Carcinoma of the lip

(1) Carcinoma of the lip occurs predominantly in men in their seventh and eighth decades of life. (2) Epidermoid carcinoma is the most common malignant lip tumor. (3) Metastases to cervical lymph nodes are uncommon. (4) Elective neck dissection is not indicated. (5) Therapeutic radical neck dissection can benefit the patient in the presence of proved suprahyoid lymph node metastases. (6) The five year survival rate for epidermoid carcinoma of the lip is higher than the rate for epidermoid carcinoma of other sites in the oral cavity or pharynx. (7) Local recurrence does not correlate with the size of the primary tumor. (8) Initial treatment failures can frequently be salvaged surgically.