Abstract
To clarify the incidence, pattern, and risk factors of neck metastasis in squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the maxillary gum, 22 patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the upper gum were reviewed clinicopathologically.
Among the 22 patients, 4 (18.2%) had primary neck metastasis and 7 (31.8%) had developed neck metastasis secondarily; thus the incidence of neck metastasis in SCC of the upper gum was 50.0%. Additionally, 3 out of 11 patients with neck metastasis had contralateral neck involvement. A high prevalence of neck metastasis was found in T4, endophytic, and posteriorly-located tumors, and the level II node was the most highly involved. All of these patients' neck metastases were controlled by neck dissection; how ever, metastasis in the lung is the major cause of mortality in SCC of the upper gum. Thus, the 5-year cumulative survival rate was 79.1 % in the 22 patients who received radical treatment.
