Surgical Treatment of Lip Cancer: Our Experience With 106 Cases

Purpose: To report our experience with 106 cases of lip cancer.Patients and Methods: We treated 106 patients with stages T1, T2, or T3 lip cancer (76, 22, and 8 cases,respectively). For the 34 T1 lesions up to 1 cm in diameter, we used a V or W excision. In the 42 T1 lesionsgreater than 1 cm and the 20 T2 lesions, we used the staircase technique. In 2 T2 cases, the carcinoma waslocated on the labial commissure and was treated with the Fries technique. For the 8 T3 cases, we used theBernard-Freeman-Fries technique. In 28 patients, a lip shave was performed and tumor was removed. The 7patients who were N at diagnosis underwent modified radical neck dissection and radiotherapy.Results: Ten patients died during the follow-up period of 11 to 65 months: 8 of unrelated causes and2 of new upper aerodigestive tract carcinoma. None of the patients died of their lip cancer.Conclusions: Lip cancer is a frequent disease of the oral cavity. Although general agreement has beenreached concerning stage T and N surgical treatment, unresolved questions remain with regard to N0treatment. We present our experience and suggestions.