Background: The purpose of the present study was to investigate the role of tumor volume in the prognosis of patients with oral cavity squamous cell carcinoma (SCC).
Methods: One hundred twenty-three patients with T4a oral cavity SCCs underwent surgical treatment. The volumes of the primary cancer were calculated by the multiplication of 3 macroscopic dimensions of the surgical specimen and related to recurrence and death.
Results: There were 54 recurrences (43.9%) and 75 deaths (60.9%). The mean tumor volume among the patients living without disease during the follow-up period was 28.2 cc, compared to 88.2 cc for patients living with disease, and to 78.9 cc for patients who died of the disease (p < .001). Multivariate analyses showed that volume and perineural invasion were independent factors for recurrence, whereas volume and lymph node metastasis were independent factors for death.
Conclusion: Among patients who already have advanced cancers, tumor volume can significantly impact their prognoses. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Head Neck 39: 960-964, 2017.
Keywords: carcinoma; mouth neoplasms; prognosis; squamous cell carcinoma; tumor burden.
© 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.