Abstract

INTRODUCTION

In this article, it is aimed to present the clinicopathological and demographic characteristics, treatment regimens and survival characteristics of locally advanced tongue squamous cell cancers (TSCC).

METHODS

This retrospective study included patients with histologically confirmed locally advanced TSCC followed up at the medical oncology clinic between January 2005 and June 2020. Clinicopathological features and treatment modalities of the patients were recorded from the hospital's patient registry database. The obtained data were compared statistically

RESULTS

A total of 70 patients, 42 male and 28 female, were included in the study. The 5-year OS was found to be 59%. The median disease free survival (DFS) was 4.1 years. OS could not reach the median in the 2/3 anterior tumors of the tongue, while the median OS was 6.9 years in the 1/3 posterior tumors of the tongue (p=0.046). There was no statistically significant difference between age groups in terms of median OS and median DFS. But there was a remarkable point. The median DFS was numerically shorter in patients aged 45 years and younger than in patients over 45 years of age (2 years vs. 4.5 years). Also important here was that both the median OS and the median DFS were numerically worse in women (respectively, median OS: 4.1 years vs. not reached, p=0.075; median DFS: 2.2 years vs. 5.9 years, p=0.349).

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION

There are few studies that examine TSCC as a separate title under these headings of oral cavity cancers and oropharyngeal cancers. In this sense, this study will contribute to the literature.