Background Choice of treatment for base of tongue carcinoma is controversial, with options including surgery alone, radiotherapy alone, or multimodality treatment. Given the highly aggressive nature of these tumors, it has been our institutional policy to manage this disease with combined partial glossectomy (with attempt to avoid laryngectomy if possible) with planned postoperative radiotherapy (RT). We report on our institutional experience with this approach. Methods A retrospective review of the charts of 17 patients with primary base of tongue squamous cell carcinoma treated with surgery and postoperative RT was performed. Patients treated with chemotherapy as part of their management were excluded. All patients underwent partial, hemi‐, or subtotal glossectomy; 15/17 patients underwent ipsilateral radical or modified radical neck dissection. All patients received comprehensive postoperative RT (median dose 6000 cGy; range 5040–6920 cGy). Stage distribution was as follows: stage I, 2; stage II, 3; stage III, 2; stage IV, 10. Positive margins for invasive carcinoma were found in 9/17 patients. Median follow‐up of surviving patients is 46 months; median follow‐up for all patients is 31 months. Results For the entire group of patients, the actuarial 3‐year local‐regional control rate was 68%. The actuarial 3‐year overall survival was 46%. The local‐regional control rate was 83% for patients with stage I–III disease versus 50% for stage IV disease. There were no local failures among eight patients with negative margins (local control 100%) compared with an actuarial local control rate of 36% among patients with positive margins (p = .03). Survival, disease‐specific survival, and locoregional control were also highly correlated with margin status (p = .003). Late major complications included 5/17 patients requiring permanent G‐tubes and/or tracheostomy to prevent aspiration. Conclusions Surgery plus postoperative RT is an intensive treatment for carcinoma of the base of tongue which offers high locoregional control in patients in whom negative margins are achieved. Positive margins indicate a high risk of locoregional and systemic failure, and these patients should be considered for innovative clinical trials after surgery. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Head Neck 19:494–499, 1997.

The clinical and pathologic characteristics of five patients with esophageal sarcomas are presented, including the only recorded esophageal Triton tumor (malignant schwannoma), the third recorded synovial sarcoma, two patients with carcinosarcoma, and one with leiomyosarcoma. All five patients were males who presented with dysphagia. Three tumors were in the cervical esophagus, and the remaining two were in the distal esophagus. On endoscopic examination, three of the tumors were noted to be polypoid, while the other two were sessile. Two patients presented with disseminated disease, and a third was locally unresectable. These three patients were treated with palliative intent. The remaining two patients underwent surgical excision and postoperative radiation therapy, and are alive and well 6 and 7 years following treatment. This experience suggests that combined modality therapy employing postoperative radiation may be effective in managing these rare lesions.

Midline MSBs decrease acute toxicity during radiation therapy for carcinoma of the oral cavity, oropharynx, and nasopharynx without compromising tumor control.

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