Twenty-seven patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the upper alveolus and gingiva were treated by surgery in our clinic between 1976 and 1996. There were 3 patients with stage I disease, 14 patients with stage II disease, 7 patients with stage III disease, and 3 patients with stage N disease. According to the histological grade proposed by Kohama, there were 9 patients with grade 1 tumor, 9 patients with grade 2 tumor, 8 patients with grade 3 tumor, and one patient with grade 4 tumor. Twenty patients underwent preoperative chemotherapy consising of Bleomycin or in combination with other agents such as Cisplatin or Methotrexatetemporal. There was a 75% response rate, with a median tumor regression rate of 52%, after preoperative chemotherapy Fifteen patients had comfortable chemotherapeutic effects of grade II b or grade III, based on the Ohboshi-Shimosato classification. All patients underwent surgical resection of the maxilla ; resection of the alveolus was performed on only 10 patients and partial maxillectomy on 17 patients. Neck dissection was done concurrently with the resection of the primary lesion in 6 patients. Lymph node metastasis was histologically proven in 4 patients. The five-year cumulative survival rate for all patients was 88%, consisted of 100% for patients with stage I or II disease, and 74% for patients with stage III or IV disease.