hi my uncle had a grade 2 squamous cell carcinoma of the right buccal mucosa. for this he ws given radiation of 60gy with 10gy additional dosage. the radiation therapy did not cure the tumor and subsequently surgery was done removing the tumor. lymph nodes of level 1 2 and 3 were removed and upon examination one lymph node of level 1 was found to be positive with perinodal spread. now the doctore recommend radiation with chemotherapy. pls guide me as to what course of action needs to be taken as the surgeon says that radiation may not be useful since it was not effective the first time round.
Hi, Thanks for writing in. Cancer stage 2 of the buccal mucosa requires surgery with chemotherapy and radiation therapy as planned depending on the clinical features on imaging. Your uncle has stage 2 disease and therefore the doctors tried reducing the tumor volume by giving radiation therapy and then removing the lymph nodes at level 1, 2 and 3. The level one lymph node shows cancer cells and therefore treatment with chemotherapy and radiation therapy should be continued. Your uncle has early disease and there is a good chance of cure and recovery after treatment with surgery followed by chemotherapy and radiation therapy. This is the recommended treatment for patient of buccal mucosa cancer stage 2 and therefore a more aggressive approach is to be provided. Treatment should be continued under supervision. Please do not worry.