(14; Table 1). For the N- and M-classification the general rules of the UICC (1992) were applied 6 . Treatment consisted of surgery or radiotherapy or a combina- tion of these two modalities. No guidelines or reference pro- grams were followed. Radiotherapy to the T-site was adminis- tered as external beams of electrons. Registration of data concerning symptoms, signs, tumourvolu- me and treatment was done retrospectively by review of patients records. The tumour volume was assessed with the measurement of three tumour diameters, which were put into the formula for an ellipse: Tumour volume (cm 3 ) = 22/42 * d.1 * d.2 * d.3., where d is the diameter. The database and analysis system “Medlog” was used for the statistical analysis. For analysis of categorical data including two groups, a x 2 -test with correction or a Fisher’s exact test was used 8 . Fisher’s exact test was used when the overall total was between 20 and 40 and the smallest expected numbers was less than five. Survival curves were calculated by the Kaplan-Meier method 7 , and compared by the Mantel-Haenzel test 8 . For mul- Rhinology, 37, 117–121, 1999 INTRODUCTION Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the nasal vestibule is a rare condition. Surgery and radiotherapy are the most used therapy entities, but no golden standard has been defined 1,2,3 . Several papers describe the disease. However, the relatively small num- ber of patients in the studies makes it hard to draw firm conclu- sions 1,3,4,5 . An international classification has never been accep- ted. Therefore, comparisons among different series are difficult. The purposes of this study were to contribute further clinical information about carcinomas of the nasal vestibule and to identify possible prognostic indicators, which might be useful in the planning of treatment. MATERIAL AND METHODS Patients with histologically verified SCC of the nasal vestibule, treated at the Head and Neck Oncology Center, Odense Uni- versity Hospital from 1978 to 1992 were included in the study. Histological revision of the material was not performed. As UICC has no T-classification for cancers of the nasale vestibule, the extension of the tumours were classified according to Wang SUMMARY From 1978 to 1992, 66 patients (32 women and 34 men) were treated for carcinoma of the nasal vestibule at Odense University Hospital. The treatment was radiotherapy (41 patients), surgery (13 patients) or a combination of the two modalities (12 patients). Twenty-one patients (32%) developed recurrence. Of these, 17 (81%) were diagnosed within the first two years of fol- low up. The recurrence rate was found to be correlated to the anatomic site of the tumour-ori- gin; septal site of origin meant higher risk of recurrence. Five-year disease specific and crude survival of all patients were 87.0% and 58.5%, respectively. Several variables (sex, age, anato- mic site of origin, Wang-classification, tumour volume and regional lymphnode metastases at time of diagnosis) were evaluated as possible prognostic indicators. In univariate analysis, regional lymph node metastases at the time of diagnosis and anatomic site of origin of the tumour showed a significant influence on survival. In multivariate analysis, septal origin of primary tumour was a significant, independent predictive factor of recurrence and the presen- ce of lymph node metastases at the time of diagnosis showed to be a highly significant prognosticator of both disease specific and crude survival (p<0.0001). We conclude that patients with primary lymph node metastases and septal location of prima- ry tumour need intensive primary treatment and close follow up. Key words: cancer of the nasal vestibule, squamous cell carcinoma, survival, results of treatment * Received for publication September 30, 1998; accepted May 10, 1999 Squamous cell carcinoma of the nasal vestibule* J.D.J. Horsmans 1 , C. Godballe 1 , K.E. Jørgensen 1 , L. Bastholt 2 , E. Løntoft 3 1 Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Odense University Hospital, Denmark 2 Department of Oncology, Odense University Hospital, Denmark 3 Department of Plastic Surgery, Odense University Hospital, Denmark