XXXX : a clinicopathologic study of 81 cases.

@entity1 @entity5 @entity957 @entity3 @entity204
Ninety-one @entity1 were treated for @entity957 of the base of the tongue between 1960 and 1974. Eighty-one of those @entity1 were treated in a consistent manner, either by radiotherapy alone or preoperative radiotherapy plus total en bloc excision with a radical neck dissection. Eighteen @entity1 were treated by radiotherapy alone (1800-7900 rads) to the primary site and bilaterally to the neck. Fifteen of these @entity1 died within five years. Sixty-three @entity1 were treated with preoperative irradiation (1800-7900 rads) followed by total primary excision with ipsilateral neck dissection. This latter group had a 50% five-year survival. Death due to uncontrolled @entity5 occurred within five years, whereas @entity204 after five years postinitial therapy was due to unrelated reasons. Unfavorable prognostic features were poor differentiation of the @entity5 , lack of histologic evidence of radiation-induced regression of the @entity5 , and more than three neck lymph node @entity3 in the initial neck dissection. Cox regression analysis showed that absence of histologic response to therapy was associated with a failure rate 4.05 times higher than that seen in @entity1 whose @entity5 did respond. @entity5 size did not affect prognosis as long as the @entity5 was technically resectable. Primary recurrences occurred in at least 20% of cases regardless of the presence or absence of surgical margin involvement.
