Abstract

We made a retrospective study to evaluate the role of surgical procedure in thetreatment of childhood head and neck malignancies. In National Cancer Center Hospital, Tokyo, 69 children were treated for head and neck malignancies during 29 years. Of 17 cases with epithelial carcinoma, 13 belonged to the age-groupe between 11 and 15 years. No case was under six yeras of age. Of 11 case who recieved surgery alone, ten survived for more than five years. Surgical therapy yielded a very good result in the treatment of epithelial carcinoma. Fifty-tow children had non-epithelial malignancies. In this group, 27 cases belonged to the age -groupe under six years and 17 cases to that between six and t en years. Most often, the non epithelial malignancy was a rhabdomyosarcoma (23 cases), which was followed by nonHodgkin's malignant lymphoma (18 cases). Of 52 non-epitherial malignancies, thirteen under went surgery, where five cases with additional chemotherapy is still alive. We must conclude that chemothery plays a important part in the treatment of childhood non-epithelial malig nancies.