Oral cavity squamous cell carcinoma survival by biopsy type: a cancer registry study

Background: Biopsy of a suspected oral squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) is important for diagnosis. Concerns have been raised about the potential for tumour spread by incisional biopsy techniques. This study aimed to investigate the five-year survival and recurrence of oral SCC after incisional and excisional biopsy in total population data available from the Western Australian Cancer Registry (WACR). Methods: Total population data from the WACR, comprising all primary oral SCC cases diagnosed between 1990 and 1999, were examined. Information extracted included date of birth, gender, biopsy date, biopsy type, disease stage (TNM classification), disease site, date of recurrence and date of death. Records were excluded if the diagnosis was fine needle aspiration based, was not that of oral SCC and if a history was noted of another malignant neoplasm. Incisional and excisional biopsy cases were compared for five-year survival, adjusting for disease stage. Results: No association was found between biopsy type and five-year survival or recurrence amongst individuals with Stage I or II disease. Conclusions: In this study, biopsy type was not associated with survival of oral SCC patients with Stage I or II disease, adding to the evidence that incisional biopsy of oral SCC can be a safe procedure.