Objectives: To determine the locoregional control and survival rates (in terms of risk factors) of patients who underwent surgical resection of early-stage lip cancer and for whom a 'wait and see' policy in terms of neck status had been implemented.
Methods: The sociodemographic data, tumour stage, tumour characteristics and histopathological features of 41 patients with early-stage lip cancer were evaluated. Factors predictive of survival and locoregional recurrence were analysed. The five-year overall survival and disease-free survival rates were determined, and the prognostic risk factors were compared.
Results: The mean follow-up period was 60.5 months (range, 4-92 months). Age, sex, tumour stage, tumour thickness and volume, and perineural involvement were not predictive of locoregional recurrence or survival. Pathological tumour stage (T1 vs T2) was a prognostic factor for both five-year overall survival (87.3 vs 65.6 per cent, p = 0.042) and disease-free survival (88.6 vs 65.6 per cent, p = 0.037).
Conclusion: Tumour stage was clearly a major factor affecting the prognosis of surgically treated patients with early-stage lip cancer for whom a 'wait and see' policy in terms of neck status had been implemented.
Keywords: Squamous Cell; Carcinoma; Disease-Free Survival; Head And Neck Neoplasms; Lip Neoplasms; Local Neoplasm Recurrence; Prognosis; Survival.