Abstract
This historical control study was performed to clarify the usefulness of elective irradiation to the clinically negative neck in patients with cancer of the tongue.
A total of 142 patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the tongue, who were clinically diagnosed as T2 of primary tumor with negative neck nodes, were treated by irradiation at Aichi Cancer Center Hospital between 1966 and 1996.
The Cancers were well controlled at the primary sites in 136 of these patients. One hundred two patients treated before 1988 did not receive elective neck irradiation, while 34 patients after 1989 were treated with 50Gy elective irradiation. In patients without elective irradiation, the ratio of late occurrence of neck metastasis was 27.5%, while this value reduced to 5.9% in the elective group. The survival rate increased from 79% (patients without elective irradiation) to 97% (with elective irradiation), although there was no significant difference. There were no increased radiation injury in patients with of ective irradiation compared to those without elective irradiation. It was concluded that elctive neck irradiation was one option for achieving higher control ratio of the neck metastases.
