OCCULT CERVICAL METASTASIS OF SQUAMOUS CELL CARCINOMA OF TONGUE AMONG CN0 PATIENTS AND ITS TREATMENT

Objective： To explore the treatment of clinically negative neck （CN0） patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the tongue. Methods： 165 CN0 patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the tongue from 1985 to 2002 were investigated retrospectively. Parts of the patients staged at T1, T2 and T3 underwent resection of primary lesion followed by neck observation, and other patients staged above T2 or at T1 but without follow-up were treated with elective neck dissection （END）. All patients were followed up for more than 3 y or until their death. Results： Lymphatic metastasis was identified histologically after operation in 33 of 120 patients treated with END, and 9 of 45 patients treated with resection of primary lesion alone. The overall rate of occult lymphatic metastasis was 25.45%, which increased with the elevating of clinical T stage. The overall rate of neck uncontrolled death was 20.00% for observation group and 5.00% for END group, and significant difference was found between them （P〈0.05）. For T~ patients in the two groups, the rate of neck uncontrolled death was 7.71% and 4.00% respectively, and no significance was found between them （P〉0.05）. When stage T2 and T3 were considered as middle stage together, significant difference （P〈0.05） could be obtained between observation （70.00%） and END group （0%）. Conclusion： The occult metastasis rate of squamous cell carcinoma of tongue increases with the elevating of clinical stage, and elective neck dissection could be considered for NO patients staged over T2 to improve neck control and survival rate; and regional resection alone of primary lesion could be considered for T1N0 patients to improve quality of life if closely followed up is conducted.

Risk factors for occult nodal metastasis in patients with stage ⅠA peripheral non-small cell lung cancer

Objective To study the risk factors of mediastinal lymph node metastasis in patients with ≤3 cm peripheral non small cell lung cancer. Methods From January 2000 to December 2010,a total of 281 patients with NSCLC [152 men and 129 women,aged (60. 31 ± 12. 13) years; ≤ 3 cm in diameter]underwent lobectomy or partial resection with systematic mediastinal lymphadenectomy in hospital. Clinical data included age,gender,

Predictors of occult lymph node metastasis in cutaneous head and neck melanoma

Objective:To use the Surveillance,Epidemiology,and End Results(SEER)database to verify the findings of a recent National Cancer Database(NCDB)study that identified factors predicting occult nodal involvement in cutaneous head and neck melanoma(CHNM)while identifying additional predictors of occult nodal metastasis and comparing two distinct cancer databases.Methods:Cases of CHNM in the SEER database diagnosed between 2004 and 2014 were identified.Demographic information and oncologic data were obtained.Univariate and multivariate analysis were performed to identify factors associated with pathologic nodal positivity.Results:There were 34002 patients with CHNM identified.Within this population,16232 were clinically node-negative,1090 of which were found to be pathologically node-positive.On multivariate analysis,factors associated with an increased risk of occult nodal metastasis included increasing depth of invasion(stepwise increase in adjusted odds ratio[OR]),nodular histology(aOR:1.47[95%CI:1.21-1.80]),ulceration(aOR:1.74[95%CI:1.48-2.05]),and mitoses(aOR:1.86[95%CI:1.36-2.54]).Factors associated with a decreased risk of occult nodal metastasis included female sex(aOR:0.80[0.67-0.94])and desmoplastic histology(aOR:0.37[95%CI:0.24-0.59]).Between the SEER database and the NCDB,factors associated with occult nodal involvement were similar except for nodular histology and female sex,which did not demonstrate significance in the NCDB.Conclusion:Regarding clinically node-negative CHNM,the SEER database and the NCDB have similarities in demographic information but differences in baseline population sizes and tumor characteristics that should be considered when comparing findings between the two databases.

Elective neck dissection or ＂watchful waiting＂： optimal management strategy for early stage NO tongue carcinoma using decision analysis techniques

Background Although tongue cancer is a common disease of the head and neck, the choice of neck treatment between elective neck dissection and ＂watchful waiting＂ remains controversial for patients with early stage NO oral tongue carcinoma. Methods On the basis of the current state of head and neck cancers a decision analysis model was created to compare two treatment strategies for early tongue cancer. Expected value （EV） was calculated according to the literature which met the defined criteria. Sensitivity analyses were performed. Results The results showed that the decision model favored elective neck dissection （EV=0.87）, over ＂watchful waiting＂ （EV=0.77）. One-way sensitivity analyses demonstrated that the outcome was influenced by regional recurrence, threshold value of 0.28 for the elective neck dissection group and 0.17 for the ＂watchful waiting＂ group, and a salvage rate threshold value 0.73 for the ＂watchful waiting＂ group. Conclusions These results suggested that elective neck dissection strategy of the neck should be applied for early stage NO oral tongue carcinoma patients with no clinical nodal metastases. When the occult lymph node metastases rate was less than 0.17 and the salvage rate was more than 0.73, ＂watchful waiting＂ strategy would be preferable.

Diagnostic accuracy of MRI and PET/CT for neck staging prior to salvage total laryngectomy

Aim:Lymph node(LN)metastases are associated with poor outcomes in patients with recurrent larynx squamous cell carcinoma(LSCC).Neck dissection(ND)is therefore commonly performed along with salvage total laryngectomy(STL).Here,we assess the rate of occult LN metastases and the diagnostic value of MRI and PET/CT for detecting them in recurrent LSCC.Methods:This retrospective study included patients with recurrent LSCC after primary(chemo)radiotherapy[(C)RT]who were re-staged by MRI and/or PET/CT and treated with STL and ND between 2004 and 2019.The histopathology of ND samples was used as the reference standard.Results:Forty-one patients were included.The prevalence of occult metastases in MRI-negative and PET/CT-negative neck nodes was between 3.2%and 6.1%.Negative predictive values of neck node re-staging were 93.9%for MRI,96.8%for PET/CT,and 96.2%for MRI and PET/CT combined.Conclusion:Both MRI and PET/CT afforded good negative predictive values for nodal staging in patients with recurrent LSCC after(C)RT prior to STL.In selected patients,these radiological modalities,particularly PET/CT,could help to avoid unnecessary surgery to the neck and its associated morbidity.