title: Neck dissection for non-squamous malignancy.
abstract: Of 1030 patients who underwent neck dissection (radical, modified or selective) in a 27-year period 103 had malignant neck nodes from a primary site in the head and neck with a histological diagnosis other than squamous carcinoma. There were 71 men and 32 women in this group with a mean age of 55 years. 28 patients had neck dissection as part of their initial treatment and 75 for later nodal recurrence. Five-year survival was 52% (40-63%). Survival was site dependent, best for thyroid tumours and worst for tumours of the major salivary glands (chi 1(2) = 6.52, P < 0.05). Histology significantly affected survival, best for papillary tumours and worst for melanoma and undifferentiated tumours (chi 1(2) = 3.85, P < 0.05). Survival was worse with advanced N stage but varied little with node level. The number of nodes invaded had a highly significant effect on survival (chi 4(2) = 23.94, P < 0.001), but extracapsular rupture had no effect. Advanced T stage at the time of surgery had a significant adverse effect on survival using univariate analysis, but this effect disappeared using multivariate analysis. In the 75 patients who had neck dissections for nodal recurrence the presence of a simultaneous recurrence at the primary site had no significant effect on survival. These patients had a better 5-year survival than patients having neck dissection for squamous disease, but the usual predictors of survival in squamous carcinoma do not always apply to non-squamous malignancy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otorhinolaryngology, University of Liverpool, UK.
authors.forename: R W
authors.initials: RW
authors.lastname: Clarke
authors.forename: A S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Jones
mesh_terms: D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006258:Head and Neck Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D008197:Lymph Node Excision; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D037981:Neck Dissection; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D012044:Regression Analysis; D015996:Survival Rate