The role of selective neck dissection in pathological N1 squamous cell carcinomas of the head and neck.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVES: This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of selective neck dissection (SND) in stage pN1 head and neck cancers. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Patients who underwent neck dissection due to squamous cell carcinoma of oral cavity, larynx, oro-hypopharynx were evaluated retrospectively. Sixty-one patients diagnosed with pathological N1 by neck dissection were included in the study. Thirty-four of the 61 necks, to which SND was applied, comprised the study group, and 27 necks, which underwent comprehensive neck dissection (CND), comprised the control group. RESULTS: Neck recurrence rates were 4.9% for all cases, 5.9% for the SND group and 3.7% for the CND group. Two- and five-year disease-specific survival rates were similar for SND group (78.6%, 72.5%) and CND group (90.5%, 82.9%). Two- and five-year overall survival rates were also similar for SND group (67.6%, 58%) and CND group (81.5%, 66%). None of them were significantly different between groups (p>0.05). CONCLUSION: Selective neck dissection provides comparable results to CND in the treatment of pN1 necks.