Abstract
Objectives
To examine the efficacy of selective neck dissection in patients with nodal metastases from head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.
Methods
A retrospective chart review was performed on a cohort of 156 subjects with clinically positive regional nodal metastases, whose initial management included neck dissection by a single surgeon from 1994–2007. 69 subjects underwent selective neck dissection (SND), while 87 underwent radical or modified radical neck dissection (R/MRND). The majority of subjects (81%) received postoperative radiotherapy. Primary outcomes included 3-year regional recurrence and 5-year overall survival, using Kaplan-Meier analysis.
Results
Following exclusion of subjects with local recurrence before or concurrent with regional recurrence, there were 4 (8.6%) regional recurrences in the SND group and 15 (22%) in the R/MRND group. 2 and 6 of these recurrences involved the contralateral neck in each group, respectively. Using multivariate analysis we adjusted for differences in nodal and primary tumor stage, primary tumor site, year of surgery, extracapsular spread, and postoperative radiotherapy rates. The lower regional recurrence rate in the SND group remained statistically significant (p=0.02). Overall 5-year survival was 46% in the SND group vs. 34% in the R/MRND group (p=0.23).
Conclusions
These results demonstrate excellent regional disease control following SND in patients with neck node metastases. SND with adjunctive radiotherapy remains our preferred approach for most patients undergoing therapeutic neck dissection.
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