The role of suprahyoid neck dissection in the treatment of squamous cell carcinoma of the lower lip: 20 years' experience at a Tertiary Center.

PURPOSE

To evaluate the efficacy of L1-2ND in the management of the lower lip squamous cell carcinoma and to achieve the highest cure rates with adequate neck dissection.

METHODS

A retrospective review was completed on patients treated between 1994 and 2014. The case histories of 184 patients who were treated with surgical excision of the primary tumor along with neck dissection, and 24 patients who were treated only with surgical excision without neck dissection at another center, were studied. All patients were followed up for evidence of recurrent disease.

RESULTS

In 208 patients (193 men, 15 women) with a mean age of 51 years, 12 were N1, 3 were N2, and 169 were N0; 24 patients had undergone operation at another center without neck dissection. Lymph node metastases were present in 34 patients (18.4%) with dissected necks and occult metastases were detected in 19 patients with clinically N0 necks (11.2%). The median follow-up of each patient was 28 months. Only 1 patient developed neck recurrence, and there was no local recurrence. The overall survival rate (OAS) of patients with clinical N0 disease who underwent neck dissection was 94.7%; the OAS of the patients who were not treated with neck dissection was 29.1%.

CONCLUSION

Level 1-2 neck dissection (L1-2ND) is the treatment of choice for controlling neck disease in patients with lower lip carcinoma, and serves as a staging procedure to detect patients who require adjuvant therapy.