[TNM-classification of oral cavity neoplasms the value of clinically measurable factors (TN)]

Problems associated with the classification of cavum oris and labial carcinomata were discussed with particular reference to patients admitted to and treated in seven different clinical hospitals where identical methods of diagnosis and case history evaluation had been used. Using electronic data processing and biostatistical methods it was possible to study the effects of two clinically detectable factors (growth of primary tumor and degree of regional metastasizing) on both the prognosis and classification according to UICC rules. It was possible to show that a determination of the size of primary tumor (T) alone was not sufficient for three homogeneous, prognostically different collectives of tumors to be satisfactorily classified by the new UICC rules. It has been shown that a classification of three collectives of tumors (new classification according to UICC rules), especially as regards the proportion of N3 metastases within the collectives of tumors, was made possible. Therefore, it will be necessary to study the prognostic influences of additional clinically determinable factors with a view to arriving at a useful and practicable classification of oral cavity carcinomata.