Abstract:
Objective To investigate characteristics and prognostic factors of cervical lymph node metastasis in patients with oral maxillary squamous cell carcinoma.
Methods Clinical and follow-up data of 101 patients with oral maxillary squamous cell carcinoma admitted to Shanghai Ninth People's Hospital between January 2015 and December 2018 were retrospectively analyzed.
Results The cervical lymph node metastasis rate was 28.7%. The median survival time was (48.40±2.76) months. Multi-factor analysis revealed that the cervical lymph node metastasis rate for cases in which the tumor invaded the buccal groove was 38.6%, which was significantly different from that for cases in which the tumor did not invade the buccal groove (P < 0.001). COX analysis showed that soft palate and midline invasion predicted lower survival time.
Conclusions Patients with oral maxillary squamous cell carcinoma have a high cervical lymph node metastasis rate, especially for cases in which the buccal groove is invaded. For such cases, preventive neck dissection is necessary. Soft palate invasion, maxillary sinus invasion, and cervical lymph node metastasis can be predictors of oral maxillary squamous cell carcinoma.