Abstract
We report a series of 136 patients with advanced oral cancer who received preoperative concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) followed by surgery and who were studied clinically and histopathologically, and the indication of minimally invasive surgery was evaluated. The results and conclusions were as follows: 1. The CR (complete response) of the primary tumor was 60.3% and the overall response rate was 92.7%. Histological effects were Grade II b and above, i.e. effective, in 84.6% and Grade III, N, i.e. pathological CR, in 73 of 82 (89.0%) in CR cases. The CCRT was also very effective histologically, and a correlation was observed between clinical effects and histological effects. 2. The residual tumor grade (R Grade) in the resected specimen is considered to be useful as a prognostic factor. 3. Histological effects were satisfactory in good PR and CR cases on CCRT. In such cases, minimally invasive surgery is considered to be applicable even in advanced cases, and improvements in the postoperative QOL can be expected by preservation of the oral organs and functions.
