The evaluation and treatment of the neck in carcinoma of the oral cavity.

Locoregional recurrence is the most common cause of failure in the treatment of carcinoma in the oral cavity. The extent of the disease can be evaluated by inspection, endoscopy, palpation, computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and ultrasound (US). The treatment consists of surgery, radiation, and their combination. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of imaging and active treatment of the neck in patients with oral cancer. Altogether 31 consecutive patients with 32 squamous cell carcinomas in the oral cavity were included. Of the tumors, 5 were T1, 18 were T2, 5 were T3 and 4 were T4. According to CT and US findings, 19 of the patients had a normal lymph node status, whereas 12 patients had enlarged or rim-like enhanced lymph nodes in the neck. Preoperative radiotherapy to the primary site and the neck was given to all except 3 patients. Surgery was carried out in all except 4 patients. A neck dissection was performed in N-positive cases (n = 9) and electively in patients with a high risk of metastases (n = 10). The median follow-up time was 31 months, with the minimum of 11 months, or until death. Seventeen (55%) of the patients experienced a recurrence. In only 1 patient the recurrence appeared initially in the neck, whereas all others had a local recurrence. Later, a distant metastasis was found in 3 patients. The meticulous imaging and active treatment of the neck were successful since only one patient's disease recurred primarily in the neck. The high number of recurrencies at the primary site show the need for intensified therapy.