Predicting occult lymph node metastasis in parotid cancer.

To determine the factors predictive of occult cervical metastases, we retrospectively reviewed the charts of 99 previously untreated patients with a primary parotid malignancy who underwent elective neck dissection between 1960 and 1985. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to determine the predictive value of 11 factors. The univariate study found facial nerve paralysis, extraparotid extension, and perilymphatic invasion statistically significant. In the multivariate analysis of preoperative factors, facial nerve paralysis was most predictive of occult disease. If the variable pool was expanded to include a fine-needle biopsy, tumor grade became the most important preoperative variable. When the analysis was further expanded to include a parotidectomy, the most influential factors were patient age, perilymphatic invasion, and extraparotid tumor extension. This report identifies the variables predictive of occult neck disease in parotid cancer.