title: Clinical predictors for contralateral neck lymph node metastasis from unilateral squamous cell carcinoma in the oral cavity.
abstract: The factors that predict contralateral (C-) lymph node metastasis (LNM) in patients with unilateral oral squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) were analyzed. One hundred and twenty-nine patients who had untreated SCC that originated from the lateral oral cavity, but not around the midline, were included. The impact of multiple clinicopathologic factors (sex, performance status, primary site, T-stage, number and level of ipsilateral LNM, growth type, histopathological grading, mode of invasion, extension across the midline, and systemic neoadjuvant/adjuvant chemotherapy) on time-to-C-LNM was assessed using the stepwise Cox proportional hazards model. The T-stage, number of ipsilateral LNM, and histopathological grading were independent and significant predictors for C-LNM. No C-LNM occurred in patients without ipsilateral LNM and in those with earlier cancers (T1 to T3) excepting tongue cancer. The results of this retrospective study suggested that patients with advanced tumors, multi-involvement of the ipsilateral neck nodes, or a higher degree of histopathological grading were at a higher risk for C-LNM.
authors.affiliation: Department of Dentistry and Oral Surgery, Shinshu University School of Medicine, 3-1-1 Asahi, Matsumoto 390-8621, Japan. hkurita@hsp.md.shinshu-u.ac.jp
authors.forename: Hiroshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kurita
authors.forename: Takeshi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Koike
authors.forename: Jun-nosuke
authors.initials: JN
authors.lastname: Narikawa
authors.forename: Hironori
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Sakai
authors.forename: Atsushi
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Nakatsuka
authors.forename: Shinobu
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Uehara
authors.forename: Hiroichi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kobayashi
authors.forename: Kenji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kurashina
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000473:pathology / Q000556:secondary*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009062:Mouth Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology*; D009333:Neck; D009361:Neoplasm Invasiveness; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D012189:Retrospective Studies