Cancer of the anterior floor of the mouth: Selective choice of treatment and analysis of failures

From 1971 through 1975, 104 patients with squamous carcinoma of the anterior and anterolateral floor of the mouth underwent surgery, irradiation therapy or a combination of both with the purpose of eliminating their tumors. No patient had received treatment before, and this effort was considered primary and definitive. Fifty-five patients were free of cancer at the time of this analysis, 21 had died of intercurrent disease or new primary tumors, 1 patient was alive although suffering from another primary cancer, and in 27 patients the treatment failed and they died of recurrent carcinoma of the head and neck or with distant metastases. The ultimate determinate rate of control for all stages of disease was 66 percent. A rational approach to the problem of selecting a particular form of treatment for patients with cancer of the anterior floor of the mouth in different clinical manifestations is presented.