ABSTRACT
Objective:To investigate the incidence of cervical metastasis of oral and maxillary squamous cell carcinoma(SCC)and to define its impact factors.Methods:A retrospective study of patients with SCC of hard palate and maxillary alveolus treated by surgery from 2002 to 2011.Results:The incidences of cervical metastasis and occult metastasis were 17.2%(11 /64)and 9.8%(5 /51)re-spectively.pT classification and vascular invasion were correlated with cervical metastasis.Occult metastatic risk was significantly higher in pT4 patients.Presence of positive nodes impaired prognosis significantly.Conclusion:Overall and occult metastasis of oral and maxillary SCC were highly associated with pT classification.Routine and synchronous elective neck dissection(END)is recomend for the treatment of T4 lesions while observation is alternative for T1 -T3 lesions.