[Systematic neck dissection in squamous cell carcinoma of the oral cavity].
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the neck control after prior surgical management of patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the oral cavity and to quantify the ratio of patients among whom neck dissection did not have a real therapeutic value. To discuss the usefulness of the sentinel node biopsy in this group of patients.


METHODS
Retrospective analysis of patients with epidermoid carcinoma of the oral cavity who had systematically a neck dissection.


RESULTS
Thirty-nine files of patients have been processed. We found 45% patients classified pN0 (among whom about one half where classified pT4). With a mean follow-up of 19 months, we did not find any cervical lymph node relapse. Five patients died (13.5%) without any cervical disease.


CONCLUSIONS
The systematic cervical lymph node dissection remains the most effective means to obtain the neck control of squamous cell cancers of the oral cavity. It however was applied without therapeutic value for 45% of the patients of this series. The validation of the sentinel node concept as a method of cervical staging should make it possible to avoid this surgical procedure in more than one third of the cases.
Département de chirurgie, institut Claudius-Regaud, 20-24, rue du Pont-Saint-Pierre, 31052 Toulouse cedex, France. benlyazid@icr.fnclcc.fr
A
A
Benlyazid
J
J
Sarini
B
B
Marques
I
I
Garrido-Stowhas
J-P
JP
Delord
S
S
Zerdoud
M
M
Rives
D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D009055:Mouth / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D009062:Mouth Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D037981:Neck Dissection / Q000379:methods*; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D010507:Periodicity; D012189:Retrospective Studies