Surgical pathology of cancer of the oral cavity and oropharynx

Elective neck dissection versus "wait and watch" policy in tongue carcinoma

Aim:

To evaluate the efficacy of elective neck dissection versus the “wait and watch” policy in the treatment of early squamous cell carcinoma of tongue.

Materials and Methods:

This is a retrospective study of 21 patients with surgical treatment between April 2009 and July 2011. The patients were divided into two groups, with Group 1 consisting of patients who underwent wide excision glossectomy with elective neck dissection and Group 2 consisting of patients who underwent glossectomy without the neck being surgically addressed. The selection of patients was done by the random double-blinded method and the review was done by a single reviewer. All patients were examined for an average period of 1 year postoperatively.

Results:

Twenty-one cases were treated, among which there were 17 T1 and 4 T2 carcinomas. All the patients had primary carcinoma involving only the tongue with no clinical neck palpable neck nodes. Eleven patients underwent wide excision of primary tumor with elective neck dissection (Group 1) and 10 patients underwent only resection of primary tumor without the neck being surgically addressed (Group 2). In Group 1, there were no recurrences, and in Group 2, there were two patients who developed subsequent cervical node metastasis with one patient undergoing further surgery to address the positive neck and the other patient was lost to follow-up.

Conclusions:

Regional recurrence was the most common cause of failure after surgical treatment of oral tongue carcinoma. Elective neck dissection significantly reduced mortality due to regional recurrence and also increased the overall survival. Our study suggests that elective neck dissection is a treatment strategy of choice for stages I and II carcinoma of the oral tongue. A prospective, randomized study is worthwhile to further evaluate the benefit of elective neck dissection in the treatment of early carcinoma of the tongue with a larger pool of patients and a lengthier follow-up period.

Superiorly based and island masseter muscle flaps for repairing oropharyngeal defects

INTRODUCTION

Tumours of the posterior part of the mouth and/or the oropharynx are often diagnosed at advanced stages. Reconstruction in this region has advanced considerably during the last three decades. Although microsurgery has offered major progress and has obviously improved the patients' outcome, the use of local and regional flaps generally remains an ideal solution for reconstruction.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

Between January 1994 and December 2001, the defects resulting from resection in 22 out of 38 patients with retromolar and/or anterior faucial pillar squamous cell carcinomas treated at this institution, were repaired by one of two types of masseter muscle flaps. The first type is the superiorly based or cross-over masseter muscle flap, and the second type the island muscle flap (being a modification of the first type).

RESULTS

The superiorly based masseter muscle flap was used in 12 patients and the island masseter muscle flap in 10. Both techniques offer a quick and reliable method for repairing oropharyngeal defects in oncologically "safe" cases. Neither require elaborate technique or aftercare.

CONCLUSION

The island masseter muscle flap has an advantage over the superiorly based masseteric flap, as it is more flexible, pliable for larger defects, and causes no postoperative trismus.

Management of cancer of the retromolar trigone

Treatment of cancer of the retromolar trigone (RMT) is controversial. While early lesions may be managed with single-modality, more advanced lesions may invade the mandible, pterygoid musculature, and the adjacent mucosa of the tonsillar pillar and soft palate, therefore making therapeutic decisions more complicated. Treatment options traditionally include surgical resection, external beam irradiation, and combined modality therapy. The choice of therapy is dependent on the extent of the tumor, nodal metastasis, and the medical status of the patient and comorbid conditions. The following review outlines the current issues relevant to the diagnosis and therapy of patients with RMT malignancy.

Treatment of squamous cell carcinoma of the anterior faucial pillar-retromolar trigone

Cancer of the anterior faucial pillar-retromolar trigone is an uncommon head and neck tumor, which has historically been shown to be associated with poor prognosis. In this retrospective study, we reviewed our experience with primary surgery followed by postoperative radiation therapy in order to determine the impact of our treatment protocols on patients' outcome. Between January 1994 and December 1998, 31 patients with histologically proven squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the anterior faucial pillar-retromolar trigone were treated in our department. Surgical excision of the primary lesion and ipsilateral neck dissection were performed in all patients. Reconstruction was accomplished using masseter muscle flap or tongue flap. Postoperatively, most patients (90%) received radiation therapy (51-58 Gy) to the primary side and neck. Adjuvant chemotherapy was offered if histologic signs of aggressive behavior were identified. Four out of 31 patients were initially seen at stage I or II and 27 patients at stage III or IV of the disease. Metastatic disease was demonstrated in 78% of ipsilateral neck nodes. Occult metastases were found in 64% of clinically N0 necks. The 3-year loco-regional recurrence rates were 44.8%. SCC of retromolar trigone is considered as an aggressive and insidious tumor. The reconstruction of the deficit of the anterior faucial pillar-retromolar area with masseter muscle flap is a reliable, safe and absolutely functional method.

Transoral laser resection with staged discontinuous neck dissection for oral cavity and oropharynx squamous cell carcinoma

Transoral laser resection of oral cavity and oropharynx squamous cell carcinoma (OOSCC) is a widely accepted approach in the absence of cervical lymph node metastases. This study investigated the results of transoral laser surgery and discontinuous neck dissection (ND) for OOSCC with clinically obvious or suspected cervical node metastases. One hundred seventeen patients with infiltrating oral carcinoma were treated for cure with transoral resection of the primary and staged ND. Twenty-nine primaries were classified as T1, 50 as T2, 35 as T3, and 3 as T4. Lymph node metastases were identified in the ND specimen of 36 patients. All patients were followed for a minimum of 3 years unless they died. Estimated tumor-related survival after 5 years is 81% for stage I and II disease of the oral cavity, 86% for stage I and II disease of the oropharynx, 73% for stage III disease of the oral cavity, 65% for stage III disease of the oropharynx, and 21% for stage IV disease of the oral cavity and the oropharynx. Local and regional control of cancer was achieved in 72 (62%) of the 117 patients. Forty-five local and regional recurrences were diagnosed during the follow-up period. Two patients died of distant metastases with no evidence of local or regional recurrence. The combination of transoral laser resection and staged ND for the treatment of OOSCC seems to offer satisfactory cure rates for a selected group of patients. These two minor surgical interventions cause less morbidity than commando-type surgery and lead to low perioperative mortality and morbidity.