title: Correlating the depth of invasion at specific anatomic locations with the risk for regional metastatic disease to lymph nodes in the neck for oral squamous cell carcinoma.
abstract: The purpose of this study was to investigate the critical primary tumor depth of invasion in oral squamous cell carcinoma that would lead to a 20% or greater risk of nodal metastasis.
  
  
  
  An institutional review board approved retrospective review of our head and neck database was performed from 2009 to 2014 and the data were statistically analyzed.
  
  
  
  Two hundred eighty-six patients with a diagnosis of oral squamous cell carcinoma who met our inclusion criteria underwent primary excision and neck dissection. For a depth of invasion of 1 mm or less, there were no patients with a positive node. From 1.1 mm to 2 mm of depth of invasion, there was 1 of 11 patients (9%) who had at least 1 positive node. At 2.1 mm to 3 mm, 5 of 25 patients (20%) had at least 1 positive node.
  
  
  
  Depth of invasion and the location of the tumor are 2 important variables to consider when making treatment recommendations to patients with clinical N0 disease. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Head Neck 39: 974-979, 2017.
authors.affiliation: Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Department of Surgery, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan.
authors.forename: Hans C
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-8835-9274
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Brockhoff
authors.affiliation: Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Department of Surgery, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan.
authors.forename: Roderick Y
authors.initials: RY
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Biostatistics, University of Michigan School of Public Health, Ann Arbor, Michigan.
authors.forename: Thomas M
authors.initials: TM
authors.lastname: Braun
authors.affiliation: Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Department of Surgery, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan.
authors.forename: Christos
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Skouteris
authors.affiliation: Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Department of Surgery, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan.
authors.forename: Joseph I
authors.initials: JI
authors.lastname: Helman
authors.affiliation: Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Department of Surgery, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan.
authors.forename: Brent B
authors.initials: BB
authors.lastname: Ward
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000556:secondary* / Q000628:therapy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009062:Mouth Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology* / Q000628:therapy; D037981:Neck Dissection; D009361:Neoplasm Invasiveness; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: N0 neck; depth of invasion; elective neck dissection; nodal metastasis; oral squamous cell carcinoma