Surgical treatment of cervical lymph nodes in carcinoma of the tongue.
A series of 56 cases of carcinoma of the anterior two-thirds of the tongue treated surgically was reviewed. Lymph node metastasis occurred in 50% of cases. There was 22% false-negative clinical assessments of lymph node status for the ipsilateral side of the neck. Because of these and the difficulty in ensuring early treatment of subsequent node metastasis, concurrent ipsilateral radical neck dissection is recommended. When the ipsilateral side of the neck was involved the contralateral side has 22% false-negative assessments. Elective radical neck dissection for the contralateral side is recommended in this situation. The overall five-year survival was 50.6%, and was greatly affected by the status of the neck lymph nodes.
D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000401:mortality / Q000601:surgery*; D005188:False Negative Reactions; D006801:Humans; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis; D037981:Neck Dissection; D014062:Tongue Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality / Q000601:surgery*