A comparison of outcomes for patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma at intermediate risk of recurrence treated by surgery alone or with post-operative radiotherapy

Controversy remains about which patients at intermediate risk of recurrence of oral squamous cell carcinoma would benefit from radiotherapy. A retrospective review of computerised database and medical records for 462 consecutive patients at the Regional Maxillofacial Unit in Liverpool who were treated with primary surgery with or without post-operative radiotherapy was carried out. We classified 29% (134) of patients as being at 'low' risk of disease recurrence (pT1-2, N0 with clear margins), 29% (135) at 'high' risk (involved margins or lymph node extracapsular spread) and the remaining 42% (193) at 'intermediate' risk. Of those at intermediate risk, 41% (80/193) received adjuvant radiotherapy and their 5 year survival (SE) was 54% (6%) compared to 71% (5%) for those with primary surgery alone (P = 0.002). A higher proportion of patients having radiotherapy had loco-regional recurrence (19/80 24%) compared to those treated by surgery alone (17/113 15%). The improved salvage rate for recurrent disease in the surgery alone group (8/17 53%), compared to those receiving radiotherapy (2/19 13%, P = 0.05), indicates an advantage in withholding radiotherapy for patients at intermediate risk of recurrence. This study indicates a potential disadvantage associated with the use of postoperative radiotherapy for patients at intermediate risk of recurrence. A randomised trial comparing a watch and wait policy to postoperative radiotherapy in patients with an intermediate risk of recurrence is required to confirm the trend indicated in this retrospective data. (C) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.