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Jing J, Longjiang L et al. J Oral Maxillofac Surg 2006; 64: 896–901

Prognosis of oral carcinoma is difficult to assess. In this study, 45 consecutive cases (age range 45-81, 34 male) in a Chinese hospital were considered, after excluding those who had received treatment prior to surgery, and those who had distant metastases. Resection aimed at a minimum of 1 cm clearance, and all subjects with clinically negative regional nodes were given neck dissections, functional in all T1 and T2 cases, but radical in some T3 and T4 cases as well as in those with positive nodes. Radiotherapy was given postoperatively except in 14 cases with T1N0 or T2N0 grading.

Significant factors in relation to recurrence were T3 or T4 grade, histological differentiation, pathological clinical stage, degree of lymphocytic infiltration and tumour thickness, but not nodal metastasis or number of mitoses. Logistic regression analysis identified T stage and recurrence as prime factors affecting survival. The authors recommend routine neck dissection for T3 and T4 lesions, and for T1 and T2 lesions thicker than 5.17 mm.