We retrospectively analyzed 73 patients with tongue carcinoma who were treated at the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Tokyo Women's Medical College between January 1980 and December 1993. The lesions in the 73 patients, consisting of 45 males and 28 females, were staged according to the TNM system. Five cases were classified as stage 0, 13 cases as stage I, 33 cases as stage II, 11 cases as stage III, and 11 cases as stage IV. Treatment for the primary site was as follows: 37 patients received interstitial implants alone, 11 patients received external-beam radiotherapy plus an interstitial implant, 15 patients underwent surgery alone, 5 patients underwent surgery after chemotherapy, and 2 patients received combined therapy with radiotherapy, chemotherapy, and surgery. Three advanced cases did not receive curative treatment. The five-year cumulative rate of survival was 82.2% for stage I patients, 79.9% for stage II patients, 62.3% for stage III patients, and 45.5% for stage IV patients. The local control rate was 79% for radiotherapy and 86% for surgery. Cervical metastases occurred after treatment of the primary site in 15 of 36 cases (42%) treated by irradiation and 3 of 16 cases (19%) treated by surgery.
