Postoperative Radiotherapy of Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Tonsil: Factors influencing survival and time to recurrence

From 1970 to 1988, 40 patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the tonsillar region were treated with surgery and postoperative split-course radiotherapy. The 5-year survival rate for all the patients was 52.5%; the corresponding figure was 100% in stage I, 75% in stage II, 63% in stage III and 15% in stage IV. The local control rate was 100% in stage I, 89% in stage II, 87% in stage III and 38% in stage IV. In the proportional hazards regression analysis T- and N-category and pretreatment Karnofsky index had the strongest association to survival, whereas T- and N-category and total radiation dose were most strongly associated to time to recurrence.