Hi, Ron
to add to the confusion, prognosis in a specific case is also impacted by the quality of the institution and the adherence to the treatment protocol by the patient. I *think* I saw a Dana Farber institutional study that indicated either a 3 or 5 year survival in the 60 or 70 percent range for HPV negative oropharyngeal cancer - the research noted that their institutional results were better than others published. So, whose stats are 'better' - the SEER data that looks at a much larger number of patients - but includes those that had treatment at less experienced institutions and broke protocol, or a smaller study at a top-flight institution where, I would imagine, the patients had sufficient medical and counseling support to stay on protocol and the adminstation of the therapy itself was correct? It's not an easy question to answer, and I have taken statistics at a graduate level.
Maria