Recurrence of oropharyngeal carcinoma. A retrospective study of 207 patients

Two hundred seven patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the oropharynx treated at Cancer Institute Hospital, Tokyo from 1971 to 1994 are presented. The patients were 182 males and 25 females, aged from 31 to 87 years (mean: 61 years). One hundred sixteen patients had carcinoma of the lateral wall (tonsillar region), 60 of the anterior wall (base of tongue), 26 of the superior wall (soft palate) and 5 of the posterior wall. Stage distribution was stage I; 12, stage II: 36, stage III: 64, and stage IV: 95. Of these patients, 121 were treated mainly by irradiation and 30 underwent salvage surgery after the failure of primary radiotherapy. The recurrence rate after primary treatment of this group was 43% and the overall local control rate was 70% (T1: 100%, T2: 78%, T3: 61%, T4: 11%). Treatment of advanced oropharyngeal carcinoma remains controversial. Radiation therapy, in our experience, often failed to achieve local control in advanced cases (stage III/IV). Local control rate of another 86 patients treated mainly by surgery was 74% (T1: 100%, T2: 87%, T3: 73%, T4: 50%). The cause-specific survival rate at 5 years for the 207 patients was 59% (stage I: 89%, II: 82%, III: 73%, IV: 36%). (author)