Clinicostatistical investigation on the cervical lymph node metastasis of oral malignant tumor

Clinicostatistical investigation was made about 105 patients performed neck dissection (including radical and partial neck dissection and lymph node extirpation) out of 197 oral malignant tumor patients at the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery 1st, Hiroshima University, School of Dentistry between October 1974 and September 1984.Metastasis to the cervical lymph nodes were histologically confirmed in 45 patients. They were most frequently found at submandibular lymph nodes, but in some patients found only at lower cervical lymph nodes. Thus radical neck dissection should be proposed for the first choice of the treatment.The comulative five year survival rates of patients performed prophylactic and therapeutic neck dissection were 60% and 62%. Although there is no significant difference between them, prophylactic neck dissection may have reduced late metastasis.34 patients confirmed metastasis histologically were performed conservative radical neck dissection, and only 3 patients (9%) had recurrence at the cervical region. This indicates that conservative radical neck dissection is valuable provided there is no metastasis to the internal juglar vein.