[Role of salvage surgery in the recurrence of mouth and oropharynx tumors].

Abstract

Educational objectives at the conclusion of this presentation, the participant should be able to identify the different criteria that lead to the surgical approach rather than to the medical treatment (radiation therapy -RT--and/or chemotherapy--CT). Introduction. When we have to deal with medium or big recurrence of an oral or oropharingeal cancer is very difficult to make the right choice between the surgical or medical therapy: what we have to ask to ourselves is whether is legitimate to reoperate considering the sequences due to surgery and the results expected. Methods. From January 1997 to December 2002 we have treated by surgery 135 patients (mean age, 54) with oral and/or oropharingeal squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). The percentage of local recurrence was 30% (41/135 patients) and nodal recurrence was 6% (8/135 pt). Twenty-two/53 patients underwent to a salvage surgery; the others 31 patients to a RT and/or CT therapy. Conclusion. The overall survival was 29% in surgical patients after 3 years and 14% after 5; in the other patients the survival was 11% after 3 and 3% after 5 years. The comparison between the results in case of recurrent cancer of this distrect shows that the best approach is the surgery, where is possible; the choice is conditioned by the following parameters: the extension of the tumor, primary and recurrent; the presence of lymph node or distant metastases; time of recurrence; grading and histological characteristics of the tumor and performance status of patients.