title: First signs of late-presenting cervical lymph node metastasis in oral cancers during follow-up.
abstract: One of the most important prognostic factors in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is the presence of lymph node metastasis. Therefore, the early detection of late-presenting cervical lymph node metastasis is important. Although many studies have assessed diagnostic modalities for detecting metastatic cervical lymph nodes, no study has evaluated the process, especially first signs, for detecting late-presenting cervical lymph node metastasis. A retrospective analysis comparing methods for detecting the first signs of late-presenting lymph node metastasis was performed. A total of 65 OSCC patients were assessed. These patients were identified retrospectively as having presented late metastasis during follow-up after initial treatment with curative intent. The findings of four detection methods were analyzed: palpation, ultrasonography, computed tomography, and subjective symptoms. The numbers of cases identified by each method were as follows: palpation, 31 (47.7%); ultrasonography, 17 (26.1%); computed tomography, 12 (18.5%); and subjective symptoms, 5 (7.7%). Palpation played a major role in the discovery of late-presenting lymph node metastasis. In contrast, metastatic lymph nodes were detected by other methods in about half of the cases. The results suggest a possible stratification of the various methods used for metastatic lymph node detection, depending on the characteristics of individual cases.
authors.affiliation: Maxillofacial Surgery Section, Maxillofacial and Neck Reconstruction Department, Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sumino
authors.affiliation: Maxillofacial Surgery Section, Maxillofacial and Neck Reconstruction Department, Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Tokyo, Japan. Electronic address: n-uzawa.mfs@tmd.ac.jp.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Uzawa
authors.affiliation: Maxillofacial Surgery Section, Maxillofacial and Neck Reconstruction Department, Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ohyama
authors.affiliation: Maxillofacial Surgery Section, Maxillofacial and Neck Reconstruction Department, Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Michi
authors.affiliation: Department of Dentistry and Oral Surgery, NTT Medical Center Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kawamata
authors.affiliation: Department of Dentistry and Oral Surgery, NTT Medical Center Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mizutani
authors.affiliation: Department of Dentistry and Oral Surgery, NTT Medical Center Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yamashiro
mesh_terms: D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000473:pathology* / Q000628:therapy*; D003952:Diagnostic Imaging; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis / Q000175:diagnosis*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009062:Mouth Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology* / Q000628:therapy*; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D010173:Palpation; D011379:Prognosis; D012189:Retrospective Studies
keywords: body mass index; computed tomography; first sign; lymph node metastasis; oral cancer; palpation; subjective symptom; ultrasonography