Population-based study of treatment outcomes in squamous cell carcinoma of the retromolar trigone

BackgroundCarcinoma of the retromolar trigone is relatively uncommon. High rates of local recurrence account for a relatively poor prognosis.Study designA population-based historical cohort of 76 cases with biopsy-proven squamous cell carcinoma of the retromolar trigone were studied as a case series. Kaplan-Meier survival curves and log rank test were used for statistical analysis.ResultsThe mean age was 67.2 years. Fifty-six patients were male, 45% had T1 or T2 tumors, and 61% were staged as N0. Treatment included radiotherapy in 35%, surgery alone in 26%, surgery and radiotherapy in 23%, and 16% received palliative treatment. The absolute and disease-specific survivals at 5 years were 51.4% and 67.7%, respectively. In patients treated with surgery, the resection margin status predicted the overall 5-year survival (P = .027), with 75% of patients with negative margins surviving 5 years versus a survival of 0% of patients with involved margins.ConclusionsSquamous cell carcinoma of the retromolar trigone has a poor survival rate for early-stage disease. Adequate surgical margins can improve survival.