We report the results of a clinical study of 14 patients with oral carcinoma who were over 80 years of age. This group accounted for 11.3% of 124 patients with oral carcinoma who we treated between 1985 and 1995. The patients consisted of 4 men and 10 women with a mean age of 82.9 years. Tumors were most commonly located in the tongue (5 cases) and gingiva (5 cases), followed by the buccal mucosa (3 cases) and floor of the mouth (1 case). Clinically, 8 patients had early-stage carcinomas. Histologically, there were 11 squamous cell carcinomas, 1 verrucous carcinoma, 1 mucoepidermoid carcinoma, and 1 spindle cell carcinoma. The main treatment was surgery in 7 patients and radiotherapy in 5 patients. The 2 other patients received only chemotherapy. Nine patients died of uncontrolled disease. The 1-year, 3-year, and 5-year survival rates calculated by the Kaplan-Meiermethod were 57.1%, 50.0%, and 27.8%, respectively. The outcome was not good in inoperable patients with advanced tumor.
