Comparison Between PET-CT–Guided Neck Dissection and Elective Neck Dissection in cT1-2N0 Tongue Squamous Cell Carcinoma

• Published in: Frontiers in oncology 2020-06, Vol.10, p.720-720
• Main Authors: Zhu, Fengjie, Sun, Shuhan, Ba, Kai
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: early stage tongue cancer; elective neck dissection; Oncology; PET-CT; survival analysis; tongue squamous cell carcinoma
• ISSN: 2234-943X; 2234-943X
• DOI: 10.3389/fonc.2020.00720

Objective: Neck management in cT1-2N0 tongue squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) remains controversial. Our goal was to compare the survival difference between PET-CT–guided neck dissection and elective neck dissection (END) for the treatment of cT1-2 tongue SCC. Methods: Patients with surgically treated cT1-2N0 tongue SCC were retrospectively enrolled. These patients were divided into two groups. Group A: The decision of whether to perform neck dissection was mainly based on the results of preoperative PET-CT examinations. Group B: Patients received END treatment without preoperative PET-CT examinations. The study endpoints were regional control (RC) and disease-specific survival (DSS). The Kaplan–Meier method was used to calculate the survival rates. Results: Group A consisted of 66 patients, and 16 patients underwent neck dissection owing to positive PET-CT results. Group B consisted of 169 patients. The 5-year RC rates in group A and group B were 86 and 87%, respectively, and the difference was not significant ( p = 0.731). The 5-year DSS rates in group A and group B were 93 and 90%, respectively, and the difference was not significant ( p = 0.583). Conclusions: Neck dissection can be safely avoided when the PET-CT scan reveals no neck lymph node involvement.