A clinical study on regional occult metastases for patients with squamous cell carcinoma of buccal mucosa / 实用口腔医学杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective:To assess regional occult metastases on clinical negative neck node [cN0] in patients with buccal mucosal squamous cell carcinoma. Methods:69 patients (31males and 38 females ) with cN0 buccal mucosa squamous cell carcinoma who underwent a lymph node dissection (at the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Affiliated Stomatological Hospital, Nanjing University Medical School) between 1992 and 2004, were retrospectively reviewed. The patients ranged in age from 31 to 79 years with a mean age of 58.2 years. All patients received radical neck dissection(RND), functional neck dissection (FND) or supraomohyoid neck dissection (SOND). Results:The incidence of occult metastases for patients with cN0 buccal mucosa squamous cell carcinoma was 14.49% (10/69).The distribution of the positive nodes was as follows Level I,10.14%(7/69); Level II, 5.80% (4/69); Level III, 2.90%(2/69). The occult metastasis rate for patients with T1, T2, T3 and T4 was 9.52% (2/21), 15.38%(6/39), 25.00%(1/4), and 20.00%(1/5), respectively. In patients with well differentiated carcinoma,the occult metastasis rate was 14.89%(7/47); moderate differentiated,10.00%(2/20); and poorly differentiated,50.00%(1/2). Conclusion:The assessment of regional occult metastases for patients with cN0 buccal mucosa squamous cell carcinoma may play an important role in deciding treatment approaches of neck.