The survival benefit of lymph node dissection in resected T1-2, cN0 supraglottic cancer: A population-based propensity score matching analysis.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: The survival benefit of clinically negative cervical lymph nodes (cN0) in patients with T1-2 supraglottic cancer (SC) remains unclear. This study aimed to comprehensively evaluate the prognostic value of lymph node dissection (LND) in patients with T1-2, cN0 SC. METHODS: We included 1036 confirmed T1-2, cN0 SC patients with clinicopathological characteristics between 2004 and 2015, based on the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results program (SEER) database. The association between LND and overall survival (OS) was investigated by the Kaplan-Meier method. RESULTS: Before propensity score matching (PSM), patients selected for LND had better OS, compared to patients did not receive LND (5-year OS 62.6% vs 51.2%, respectively; p = 0.011). After PSM, the LND group also present significant improvement in prognosis (5-year OS 64.3% vs 51.7%, respectively; p < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: LND was significantly associated with a more favorable prognosis compared with non-LND in patients with T1-2, cN0 SC.