Treatment Options for Tongue Cancer

Prognosis for Tongue Cancer

The prognosis for tongue cancer depends to a great extent upon the stage at which the disease is diagnosed and treated. Stage of disease is, therefore, the single most important factor that affects long-term prognosis and survival. Five-year survival rates of over 80% have been reported for stage I and stage II tongue cancer but drop to 50% or less for stage III and stage IV disease. In general, patients with no neck involvement (N0 neck) at the time of diagnosis have a far better prognosis than those where the cancer has spread to the cervical lymph nodes.