Carcinoma of the floor of the mouth.

Sixty-six patients were treated for squamous cell carcinoma of the floor of the mouth during an 11-year period. Determinate three-year survival rates were 53%, 46%, 43%, and 33% for stages I through IV, consecutively. Analysis of treatment modalities showed that composite resection combined with radiation therapy resulted in higher cure rates than irradiation or wide local excision alone. The relatively low cure rates associated with the early cancers in this series suggest that more aggressive surgical therapy is warranted for small lesions.