title: Elective neck dissection vs observation in transorally treated early head and neck carcinomas with cN0 neck.
abstract: CONCLUSIONS
  This study showed that elective neck dissection (ND) resulted in reduced regional recurrences in a selected group of surgically treated patients with pT1-2 carcinomas but did not show any benefit for disease-specific survival (DSS). Furthermore, the importance of pN classification was also verified for this patient group.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this study was to determine whether the use of elective ND in patients with early head and neck carcinomas and cN0 neck that have undergone a transoral removal of the primary tumor can reduce the incidence of regional recurrence and improve survival.
  
  
  METHODS
  Between 1980 and 2010, 224 patients that underwent transoral resection of a pT1-2 carcinoma and had a cN0 neck were included in the study; 101 patients received an elective ND and 123 did not.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The group that underwent elective ND showed a tendency toward better regional control (RC) (96.0% vs 90.3%, p = 0.07) but similar DSS (85.7% vs 85.4%, p = 0.984). Cases with pN0 classification had a better overall survival (74.6% vs 46.9%, p = 0.07), DSS (88.4% vs 53.6%, p = 0.44), and RC (98.6% vs 62.5%, p < 0.001) compared with pN+ patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Friedrich Alexander University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, Erlangen, Germany. Georgios.Psychogios@uk-erlangen.de
authors.forename: Georgios
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Psychogios
authors.forename: Konstantinos
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Mantsopoulos
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Koch
authors.forename: Nils
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Klintworth
authors.forename: Marcus
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kapsreiter
authors.forename: Johannes
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zenk
authors.forename: Heinrich
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Iro
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D004724:Endoscopy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007012:Hypopharyngeal Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D007822:Laryngeal Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009062:Mouth Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D037981:Neck Dissection; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D019370:Observation; D009959:Oropharyngeal Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000517:prevention & control*; D012189:Retrospective Studies