Introduction: Our aim was to evaluate the results and the prognosis of squamous cell carcinoma of the mobile part of the tongue stage T1-T2 treated by surgery and radiotherapy at the Institute Jules Bordet from January 1950 to 31th December 1993.
Methods: According to the classification TNM (UICC 1978) 165 consecutive patients classified as follow: 73 T1No (stage I), 64 T2No (stage II), 7 T1N1 and 20 T2N1 (stage III) and 1 patient T2N2 (stage IV). All patients underwent surgery beforehand. 136 patients received additional brachytherapy.
Results: In this study were included 117 men and 48 women with an average age of 60 years. The rate of relapse on the primary tumoral site amounted to 16,4% and the residual relapse to 40%. The survival note without relapse was evaluated respectively at 3 years in 67% of the tumours T1 (against 28% for the T2), at 5 years for 59% for tumours T1 (against 26% for T2). From the clinical point of view the survival rate without relapse was of 5 years for 61% of stage I, 29% of stage II and 24% of stage III. A more extensive investigation shows the statistic influence, such as age (p<0.004), size of the tumour (p<0.007) and its shape (p<0.0007) on the total survive rate. The state of the nodes (p<0.02) and the safety margins (p<0.04) are statistically less associated. The survival rate with no relapse according to a study considering statistical factors, is significantly influenced by the size (p<0.0002) and age (p<0.0003).
Conclusion: T1-T2 stages of the mobile tongue are characterized by a limited local spread but a more regional spread and diversified therapeutic approach with prognostic factors influencing the survival rate without forgetting the part played by the TNM classification.