Incidence and patterns of regional metastasis in early oral squamous cell cancers: Feasibility of submandibular gland preservation
✍ Scribed by Ali Razfar; Rohan R. Walvekar; Antoine Melkane; Jonas T. Johnson; Eugene N. Myers
- Publisher
- John Wiley and Sons
- Year
- 2009
- Tongue
- English
- Weight
- 117 KB
- Volume
- 31
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 1043-3074
No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
✦ Synopsis
Abstract
Background.
We aimed to study the incidence of metastasis to the submandibular gland (SMG) and to establish the oncologic basis of SMG preservation in early‐stage cancer of the oral cavity (OSCC).
Methods.
This was a retrospective study of 261 patients with OSCC treated primarily with surgery at a tertiary medical center. One hundred thirty‐two early‐stage (T1‐2, N0) OSCCs were further analyzed.
Results.
The mean age was 59 years with male‐to‐female sex ratio of 1.4:1. Two hundred sixty‐one neck dissections were performed with SMG removal in 253 patients. One patient with an advanced floor of mouth cancer had obvious infiltration of the SMG. Only 2.5% (3 of 116) patients with early‐stage OSCC had level I metastasis; none had SMG metastases.
Conclusion.
SMG preservation in early cancers (T1‐2, N0) of the oral cavity should be feasible unless there is evidence of direct invasion of the gland or close proximity of the cancer to it. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Head Neck, 2009