Cryotherapy with modern apparatus utilizing liquid nitrogen was used to control malignant and benign lesions of the lip and oral cavity in 5 patients. The reasons for the choice of therapy included resistance to radiotherapy, lesions in areas not amenable to excision without disabling bone sacrifice (palate, mandible) and severe cardiac disease which made the risk of operation prohibitive. Usually local anesthesia was used. One patient died of acute myocardial infarction 4 months after treatment and at autopsy no residual tumor was found in the treated area. The other patients are free of local recurrence at this time and none have palpable regional lymph nodes. Additional clinical evaluation is required but the results suggest that cryotherapy merits more extensive trial in selected patients in whom the customary methods of treatment have failed or cannot be used without great risk.

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