Survival Outcomes of Early Stage Oral Cavity Squamous Cell Carcinoma: A Multi‐institutional Analysis

Objectives: Surgical resection is the standard of care in early stage oral cavity squamous cell carcinoma (OCSCC). Recent literature has shown, however, that adverse pathologic features are potential indications for adjuvant radiotherapy. Objective: 1) Evaluate survival outcomes of early‐stage OCSCC patients. 2) Determine whether a subgroup of patients may benefit from adjuvant radiotherapy. Methods: The setting for this study was the two tertiary cancer centers in the province of Alberta and was designed as a prospective population‐based multi‐institutional review. Demographic, pathologic, treatment, and survival data was obtained from patients diagnosed with early stage OCSCC from 1998 to 2010. Survival outcomes were calculated using Kaplan‐Meir and Cox‐Regression analysis. Results: A total of 343 patients were analyzed. Five‐year survival according to treatment modality were surgery, 83.3 %; surgery + radiation, 94.7 %; radiation, 56.4 %. Cox regression analysis did not show any significant differences between groups when considering age, gender, and CCI/ECOG score. Conclusions: Patients with early stage OCSCC have excellent survival when treated by primary surgical resection. A subgroup of patients may benefit from post‐operative radiotherapy.