Squamous cell carcinoma of the oral cavity: a follow up study of 85 cases and analysis of prognostic variables.

We have studied clinical and morphological variables of 85 patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the oral cavity. After a follow up which varied between 2 months and 6 years, we carried out an analysis of the survival rate, and obtained significant differences (p < 0.05) for the Breslow and Mantel-Cox tests in relation to the clinical stage, size and presence of lymphadenopathy. Furthermore we have carried out a predictive-prognostic statistical analysis through a multiple regression study, from which we have concluded that the size of the lesion and the number of peritumoral eosinophils were the variables with prognostic significance with respect to the survival rate of the patients. Furthermore, once the variables in relation to the incidence of relapse were analyzed, we found that the size, the presence of lymphadenopathy, the number of peritumoral eosinophils and the number of mitoses were those variables considered to be of the greatest prognostic value.