Occult neck matastasis and treatment of early oral tongue squamous carcinomas / 中国癌症杂志

ABSTRACT

Purpose：To study occult neck metastasis and the effects of salvage treatment. Methods：18 patients with stage Ⅰ or Ⅱ oral tongue squamous carcinomas had not received previous treatment. The tongue primary was excised via the transoral route and the neck was observed closely during follow-up.Results：The incidence of occult neck matastasis was 44% (7/16). The salvage rate after appearance of nodal matastasis was 27%(3/7).Conclusions：In oral tongue cancers, elective neck treatment should be considered regardless of a small primary and negative neck examination because of the high incidence of occult nodal matastasis and the poor outcome after salvage treatment.