Traditional and new treatment strategies for oral squamous cell carcinomas

308 patients with intraoral carcinomas were treated in the Finsen Institute, Copenhagen, from 1978 to 1982. As primary treatment, 73% of the patients had radiotherapy alone, 5% had operations alone, and 14% had combined treatment. After first recurrences, 45% of 204 patients were operated on. This treatment strategy kept 40% of all 308 patients free of disease for at least 3.5 years or until death. Fifty-eight percent of all 308 patients died of their oral carcinomas. The present study shows that tumor size, lymph node involvement, and total tumor stage are important prognostic factors. Old and new treatment strategies are discussed and more use of operations using modern reconstructive techniques followed by radiotherapy is recommended.