Clinical and histological prognostic factors in locally advanced oral cavity cancers treated with primary surgery

SummaryObjectiveThe primary objective of this study was to determine the clinical and pathological prognostic factors in locally advanced oral cavity cancers treated by primary surgery.MethodsAll patients treated by primary surgery with free-flap reconstruction for locally advanced oral cavity squamous cell carcinoma in our institution between 2000 and 2010 were included in this retrospective study. Overall, cause-specific and locoregional disease-free survivals were determined by Kaplan-Meier analyses. Clinical and histological prognostic factors were assessed by univariate (Log Rank tests) and multivariate (Cox models) analyses.ResultsA total of 149 patients (102 men and 47 women; mean age = 61.3 ± 12.1 years) were included in the study. Five-year overall, cause-specific and locoregional disease-free survivals were 55%, 68% and 71%, respectively. Age, comorbidity and tumour size (histological evaluation) were significantly correlated with overall survival (P < 0.05). Age, tumour size, bone invasion and surgical margins were significantly correlated with locoregional disease-free survival (P < 0.05).ConclusionThe main prognostic factors identified in this study were clinical (age and comorbidity) and histological (pathological tumour size, bone invasion and surgical margins).