Squamous cell carcinoma of the lower lip.

PURPOSE

Most patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the lower lip present with early disease and follow a rather indolent clinical course. Determinant 5-year survival rates range from 85% to 95%. This study was undertaken in an attempt to gain insight into the cause of failure in those few patients who develop recurrent disease.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

A retrospective review was completed on patients treated between 1964 and 1990. Patients were staged according to the American Joint Committee. Patients with no palpable adenopathy had either a unilateral or bilateral suprahyoid dissection performed. Patients with palpable adenopathy underwent radical neck dissection. All patients were followed for evidence of recurrent disease.

RESULTS

The records of 92 patients treated surgically for squamous cell carcinoma of the lower lip were available and complete. Palpable adenopathy was present in 38 patients; however, only 8 of these patients (21%) were histologically positive. Of the 54 patients judged to be free of disease, 3 (5.5%) had histologic evidence of metastasis. Overall, the incidence of cervical metastasis was 12%.

CONCLUSION

The incidence of cervical metastasis in patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the lip is low; however, these data suggest that the size of the primary tumor does not correlate closely with predicting the incidence of regional lymph node metastases.