Results of treatment for squamous carcinoma of the lower gum

The records of 61 patients with a diagnosis of squamous carcinoma of the lower alveolar ridge were reviewed. The overall two-year survival was 67% with a local or regional failure of 5%. The majority of patients were treated with surgery initially with an excellent local control of 98%, if the patient who died in the postoperative period and the patient lost to follow-up are excluded. Radiation therapy should be used postoperatively for those patients whose cancer exhibits some of the adverse findings such as extensive nodal metastasis, perineural invasion, or inadequate margins of surgical resection.