The British journal of oral & maxillofacial surgery
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Br J Oral Maxillofac Surg · Dec 2004
Management of the neck in patients with T1 and T2 cancer in the mouth.
Our aim in this retrospective study was to evaluate the extent of control of metastatic disease in the neck and the survival of patients with T1 and T2 oral cancer. ⋯ Cervical nodes contained metastases in 17 of 21 patients who had therapeutic, and 27 of 75 who had elective, neck dissections. Neck metastases developed subsequently in 15 of 75 patients in the observed group, and 9 of these were salvaged by therapeutic neck dissection. The 5-year disease free survival was 19/21 after therapeutic dissection, 72/75 after elective dissection, and 69/75 in the observed group. Patients with cervical nodal metastases had significantly reduced 5-year survival compared with those without (63% and 91%, P = 0.003).