Abstract
Sixty-one squamous cell carcinomas of the oral cavity with extranodal cervical lymph node metastasis were retrospectively analyzed in our clinic between 1976 and 1993, and the following results were obtained : Forty cases simultaneously underwent immediate neck dissection including resection of the primary tumor, while the other twenty-one cases underwent subsequent neck dissection due to secondary metastases in the neck. A large number of cases involved nodes: more than three nodes were observed in most cases, and the number of involved nodes with extranodal spread was one or two in 54 of 61 cases, or approximately 90%. Regarding the prevalence of involved nodes with extranodal spread according to the neck levels proposed by UICC, thirty-one cases involved levels higher than level 2. Ten of twelve cases in which only neck recurrence was seen revealed extranodal metastases at level 2.
Early detection of metastasis at level 2 is important for the prevention of extranodal spread. Adjuvant therapy, such as post-operative radiotherapy, may be beneficial in such cases.
