Background. Squamous cell carcinoma (SCCA) of the oral cavity recurs with a frequency of 25%-48%, a fact that usually portends a poor prognosis. Recent studies have reported salvage cure rates as high as 67%. Investigators have also claimed that restaging recurrent tumors provides useful prognostic information, although this has not been demonstrated with tumors of the oral cavity. The purposes of this study were: (1) to report the patterns of recurrent SCCA of the oral cavity; (2) to examine the benefit of restaging oral cavity tumors, and (3) to compare different treatment modalities in the management of recurrent SCCA of the oral cavity.
Materials and Methods. Thirty-eight patients who developed recurrent SCCA of the oral cavity were reviewed. Salvage treatment consisted of surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, or a combination of these modalities. Survival analysis was based on the stage of the primary and recurrent tumors and the type of salvage treatment received.
Results. The overall recurrence rate was 28%. Local recurrence was most common (58%) followed by locoregional (27%) and regional recurrence (16%). Patients who recurred more than 6 months after completion of their primary treatment had improved survival compared with those who recurred within 6 months of initial treatment. Individuals with stage I-II primary tumors had significantly improved salvage time and total survival time compared with those with stage III-IV primary tumors (p < 0.005 and p < 0.001). Conversely, the stage of the recurrent tumor was not predictive of either improved salvage time or total survival time. Patients who underwent salvage surgery had significantly improved salvage time and total survival time compared with those who received chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy (p < 0.001 and p < 0.002). The overall salvage cure rate was 21%. Neither the stage of the primary or recurrent tumors nor the type of salvage treatment received significantly correlated with an improved cure rate. However, the group of patients who underwent salvage surgery approached a statistically significant improvement in cure rate (p = 0.08).
Conclusions. Squamous cell carcinoma of the oral cavity is most likely to recur at the primary site. The stage of the primary tumor is significantly correlated with survival even after recurrence, but the stage of the recurrent tumor is not significantly correlated with survival. Patients most likely to benefit from retreatment are those who (1) have primary tumors stage I-II, (2) recur greater than 6 months after their initial treatment, and (3) develop recurrences that are amenable to salvage surgery.