Background: The purpose of this study was to present the impact of clinicopathological factors on patient survival in tonsillar squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) that needs to be evaluated.
Method: This study enrolled 86 patients with tonsillar SCC undergoing surgical resection.
Results: The cumulative 5-year disease-specific survival (DSS) rate for stages I, II, III, and IVa/b tumors was 100%, 91.7%, 100%, and 61.8%, respectively. Unfavorable cumulative 5-year DSS rates were significantly correlated with advanced T classification (p = .029), tumor thickness over 1 cm (p = .007), 3 or more positive neck lymph nodes (p < .001), and extracapsular spread (ECS; p = .002). Cox regression analysis revealed that the presence of 3 or more positive neck lymph nodes (p = .035) and the stage IVa/b (p = .022) were the independent predictors of the 5-year DSS.
Conclusion: Patients with tonsillar SCC with stage IVa/b and metastasis to 3 or more lymph nodes have poorer clinical outcomes. Novel therapeutic strategies are necessary for these patients.
Copyright © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.