RESUMO
An analysis of 10-year experience of a radiological department (962 patients) indicated late admission of oral mucosa cancer patients for specialized treatment: 75-85% of the patients were admitted with Stage II-IV disease. The assessment of the efficacy of radiotherapy according to the 3 and 5-year survival rates showed that better results were obtained for buccal mucosa cancer and the worst for mouth fundus cancer. Three-year survival rates could be considered sufficient for the assessment of buccal cancer therapy whereas a 5-year period was necessary for the rest of the cancer sites. Therapeutic results and stage were well correlated; in all the sites the results were worse in patients with Stage III-IV disease. Regional metastases are a poor prognostic sign, particularly fixed metastases in patients with tongue and mouth fundus cancer. Combined therapy turned out to be the most effective in tongue cancer. In different variants of dose delivery in time the most favorable results were obtained with small fractionation (a conventional course). However it should be noted that a split course was usually applied to weak elderly patients with advanced stages of disease.
