We retrospectively studied 72 patients with maxillary carcinoma (48 of the gingiva, 22 of the antrum, and one each of the hard palate and maxillary bone). The 5-year survival was 73% for those with gingival carcinoma, and 45% for those with antral carcinoma. Nine patients died of local recurrence, three of cervical metastases, six of distant metastases, and five died of metastases in lateral retropharyngeal nodes despite successful control of local and regional disease. We have recently done en bloc resections of the maxilla and cervical lymph nodes through the parapharyngeal space for patients with posteriorly invasive maxillary cancer accompanied by lymph node metastases in the upper jugular region.