Squamous cell carcinoma of the tongue: a comparison of the anterior two thirds of the tongue with its base.

A retrospective analysis of 176 patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the tongue has been reported. The tongue base and mobile tongue, believed to behave as two clinically distinct anatomic areas, have been compared and contrasted. Women comprised 25 percent of the patients with tumors of the base of the tongue and 45 percent of those with mobile tongue lesions, an increase over previous reports for both locations. The majority of patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the tongue base (77 percent) presented with advanced (stage III or IV) lesions at time of initial clinical and diagnostic staging, compared with only 33 percent of those with cancer of the mobile tongue. There was no significant difference in survival between the two locations when survival rates were compared stage by stage. The decreased overall survival frequently reported for patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the tongue base compared with the survival for patients with tumors of the mobile tongue may be due to the disproportionately high number of patients with cancer of the tongue base who present with advanced disease. Survival rates have not significantly improved when compared with other retrospective series reported in the past 40 years. We strongly urge the development of intercenter, multidisciplinary, cooperative, prospective, protocols to assess combinations of currently accepted therapeutic modalities in the hope of improving treatment of this devastating disease.