A Retrospective Analysis of Disease-free Survival of 2332 Cases of Cancer of the Oral Tongue from a Single Institute in Eastern India from 1998-2017

ABSTRACT

Background: Over half the patients of Oral Tongue Cancers in India present with locally advanced disease and Nodal Metastasis. Additionally many of them avoid surgical intervention due to fear or belief that Cancer is a Death Sentence.Materials and Methods: A Retrospective analysis of all Oral Tongue Cancer patients treated at Mahavir Cancer Sansthan from 1998 to 2017 was done. The primary aim was to find the Disease Free Survival (DFS) rates of these patients. The secondary aim was to examine if surgical excision improved DFS rates. Results: The mean DFS for all stages was 51 months varying from 90 months in stage 1 to 30 months in stage 4. One in every three patients survived without recurrence of disease for more than five years. The addition of surgical excision at any stage of Cancer, when possible, resulted in a significant increase in DFS.