Cervical lymph node metastasis after local excision of early squamous cell carcinoma of the oral cavity

A total of 54 patients with stage I and stage II squamous cell carcinoma of the oral cavity were reviewed as to treatment modality, adequacy of treatment, and site of failure. Surgery was employed as the sole initial treatment modality in 52 patients. Forty-three underwent primary tumor excision alone and 9 underwent elective neck dissection at the time of primary tumor excision. The patients who underwent elective neck dissection at the time of excision of the primary tumor had a 3 year survival rate of 88 percent, in comparison to a survival rate of 77 percent in those patients whose initial therapy was directed solely at the primary tumor. A low incidence of local recurrence (2 percent) and a high incidence of neck recurrence (42 percent) were documented in those patients treated by primary tumor excision alone. Patients who underwent salvage neck dissection for recurrent neck node metastases had a 3 year survival rate of 56 percent. This study has documented a high incidence of cervical node recurrence in patients with T1 and T2 squamous cell carcinomas of the oral cavity treated by primary tumor excision alone and a poor survival rate after salvage therapy. A small group of patients who underwent elective neck dissection had a demonstrably high survival rate. These observations lend support to the call for elective neck dissection in patients with stage I and II oral cavity carcinoma but are not conclusive. Therapeutic decisions regarding elective treatment of the neck will continue to be made according to the best judgment and prejudices of the individual surgeon until a prospective, randomized multi-institutional study addressing this specific issue is undertaken.     

Treatment of the N0 neck during salvage surgery after radiotherapy of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma

BACKGROUND: The morbidity and mortality rates of salvage surgery in patients with local recurrence of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) after radiotherapy are high. The aim of this study was to determine the rate of occult neck node metastasis and the surgical morbidity of patients after salvage surgery for local relapse after definitive radiotherapy. METHODS: Thirty patients who underwent salvage surgery with a simultaneous neck node dissection for a local relapse after definitive radiotherapy for HNSCC between 1992 and 2000 were included in this study. The primary tumor sites were oral cavity in six patients, oropharynx in 17, supraglottic larynx in three, and hypopharynx in four. Initially, seven patients had T2 disease, eight had T3, and 15 had T4. RESULTS: Twelve patients (40%) experienced postoperative complications, including two deaths. There was no cervical lymph node metastasis (pN0) in 29 of the 30 patients. Fifteen patients (50%) had a recurrence after salvage surgery, including 11 new local recurrences and four patients with distant metastasis. CONCLUSIONS: The risk of neck node metastasis during salvage surgery for local recurrence in patients treated initially with radiation for N0 HNSCC is low. Neck dissection should be performed in only limited area, depending on the surgical procedure used for tumor resection.     

Carcinoma of the parotid gland

BACKGROUND: The low incidence and heterogeneity of histiotypes of primary parotid carcinomas makes these tumors histologically and epidemiologically difficult to evaluate. The present study reviews a single institution's experience in the treatment of primary parotid carcinomas during the last 10 years. METHODS: The charts of 98 consecutive patients who had a primary parotid carcinoma and who received primary curative treatment were analyzed retrospectively. The tumors were grouped into high-grade and low-grade malignancies. The effect of treatment modalities on locoregional control, the incidence of locoregional recurrences and distant metastases, and survival rates are evaluated and compared between high- and low-grade malignancies. RESULTS: High- and low-grade malignant tumors were observed in 50 and 48 cases, respectively. Lymph node metastases were detected in 25 of 98 (25%) patients, of whom 8 of 22 (22%) clinically NO staged patients underwent elective neck dissection. In 24 of 26 resected facial nerves, a histologic tumor infiltration was confirmed, in 14 high-grade and 10 low-grade tumors. Local recurrence developed in 13 patients and was associated in 7 with high-grade and in 6 with low-grade tumors. All but 1 of the low-grade malignancies with local recurrence did not receive postoperative irradiation. Regional recurrence developed in 11 patients and distant metastases developed in 10, 3 in combination with a neck recurrence and 1 with a local recurrence. The survival rate at 5 years for low- and high-grade carcinomas was 87% and 56% and the disease-free survival rate 72% and 48%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The incidence of occult metastases in clinically N0-elective neck dissection was 22%. A routine elective neck dissection in all N0 parotid carcinomas is suggested. There is no statistically significant difference between low- and high-grade tumors as for the rate of local recurrence and, as all except one of the low-grade malignancies with local recurrence did not receive postoperative irradiation, postoperative irradiation is not only suggested for high-grade carcinomas but also for T2 to T4 low-grade carcinomas.     

Salvage treatment for neck recurrence after irradiation alone for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma with clinically positive neck nodes.

BACKGROUND: To analyze the likelihood of salvage for patients with recurrence in the neck after radiotherapy. METHOD: Recurrent disease developed in the neck of 51 patients after primary irradiation for head and neck carcinoma. Salvage was defined as no recurrence of cancer anywhere for at least 1 year after initial salvage treatment and continuously thereafter. RESULTS: Thirty-three patients (65%) did not undergo a salvage attempt: 18 had unresectable disease; 9 were medically unfit, 4 had distant metastasis; and 2 refused treatment. Eighteen patients (35%) underwent salvage treatment with chemotherapy alone (4 patients), chemotherapy and neck dissection (1 patient), neck dissection alone (11 patients), or surgery with radiotherapy (2 patients). After the initial salvage treatment, recurrent local-regional and/or distant disease developed in all patients. Recurrence was in the neck alone in 10 patients (55%); neck and distant sites in 3 patients (17%); neck, primary site, and distant sites in 2 patients (11%); and with distant metastasis alone in 3 patients (17%). Control of neck disease at 5 years was 9% for the 18 patients who underwent a salvage attempt, as well as for all 51 patients. For the overall group, absolute and cause-specific survival rates were both 10% at 5 years. CONCLUSIONS: The likelihood of successful salvage treatment after a neck recurrence following radiotherapy is remote.     

Isolated neck recurrence after definitive radiotherapy for node-positive head and neck cancer: salvage in the dissected or undissected neck

BACKGROUND: The role of salvage neck dissection for isolated regional recurrences after definitive radiotherapy (RT) is ill-defined. METHODS: Five-hundred fifty patients were treated with RT for lymph node-positive head and neck cancer. RT consisted of a median dose of 74.4 Gy. Chemotherapy was administered in 133 patients (24%). Patients were followed for neck failure after planned neck dissection (n = 341) or observation (n = 209). Salvage therapy was offered to those with isolated neck recurrences. RESULTS: There were 54 (10%) failures in the neck at a median 3.7 months after RT (range, 0 to 17 months). Thirteen patients had isolated recurrences after receiving definitive RT with (n = 11) or without (n = 2) neck dissection. Nine patients underwent attempted surgical salvage with or without re-irradiation and 4 were successfully salvaged without major complications. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with neck failure after definitive therapy usually have poor outcomes, but salvage attempts may be successful in selected patients with an isolated neck recurrence.     

Role of neck dissection following concurrent chemoradiation for advanced head and neck carcinoma

BACKGROUND: Our primary objective was to determine the role of neck dissection following concomitant chemoradiation (CRT) for advanced stage III-IV head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). METHODS: One hundred eighty-four patients with HNSCC treated with CRT were included. One hundred twenty-three patients reached a regional complete response (CR) after CRT and no neck dissection was performed. Forty-five patients among the 58 who reached a regional partial response (PR) underwent a neck dissection. RESULTS: Overall, regional CR rate after CRT was 68%. Patients who reached a regional CR (no neck dissection) had an overall neck recurrence rate of 5%. Patients with regional PR who underwent a neck dissection had a 7% neck recurrence rate. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with regional CR not followed by a neck dissection have a low rate of neck recurrence. Systematic neck dissection is not mandatory for patients with nodes less than 6 cm reaching a regional CR. For patients with nodes larger than 6 cm, no firm recommendation can be given because of the small number of patients in this series. If the regional response is incomplete, cervical dissection is warranted.     

Localized carcinoma of the external ear is an unrecognized aggressive disease with a high propensity for local regional recurrence.

Management problems in patients with recurrent squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the external ear (pinna) have prompted a review of the management and treatment outcomes of patients who present with localized disease. Forty patients were seen over a 15-year period (1972 to 1991). Thirty-six were men, and 4 were women, with an age range from 43 to 93 years (average age: 71 years). Presenting TNM status was stage 0 in 2 patients, stage I in 15 patients, stage II in 13 patients, stage III in 2 patients, stage IV in 4 patients, and unknown stage in 4 patients. Thirty-six patients had clinically negative nodes at presentation (N0), and 4 had palpable nodes (N+). The primary treatment was local excision in 13 patients, Mohs' micrographic surgery in 16 patients, local excision plus external beam radiotherapy in 4 patients, and radical resection (parotidectomy/neck dissection/mastoidectomy) with or without radiotherapy in 5 patients. Two patients with stage IV disease died after diagnosis and prior to treatment, and two other patients with stage IV disease received palliative chemotherapy. Twenty patients developed recurrence from 2 months to 8 years. It included nine local recurrences, eight regional recurrences (parotid/neck/mastoid), and three distant metastases (lung or brain). After treatment of the recurrences in 20 patients, 8 are alive 15 months to 16 years later, 2 patients died of other diseases, and 10 patients died of SCC. The recurrences were managed by reoperation, radiotherapy, or chemotherapy. From the results of this study, we conclude that localized carcinoma of the external ear has a high propensity for local and regional failure and merits more aggressive treatment of the primary lesion and elective treatment of the regional lymph nodes and parotid gland in high-risk patients.     

Elective neck dissection for carcinomas of the oral cavity: occult metastases, neck recurrences, and adjuvant treatment of pathologically positive necks

BACKGROUND: Supraomohyoid neck dissection (SOHND) is currently performed in patients with carcinoma of the oral cavity with clinically negative neck. Most investigators consider SOHND as a staging procedure. METHODS: Records of 100 patients with cancer of the oral cavity and clinically negative neck undergoing SOHND were reviewed. The rate and significance of occult metastases are evaluated, the neck recurrences are analyzed and the indication of adjuvant radiation of pN+ necks is discussed. RESULTS: In 34 of 1814 of analyzed lymph nodes, metastatic disease was detected as follows: 30 macrometastases and 4 micrometastases. In 13 of 34 metastases (38%), extracapsular spread was observed. Twenty of 100 patients (20%) had to be upstaged. In 9 of 87 (10%) patients without local recurrence and with a minimal follow-up of 24 months, 5 ipsilateral (4 within the dissection field) and 5 contralateral neck recurrences were observed. Regional recurrence developed in 4% and 35% of patients with pN0 and pN+ necks, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: In 20% of patients with oral cavity tumors and pN0 neck, occult metastases were disclosed. Neck recurrences developed significantly more often in patients with pN+ than in those with pN0 necks. To evaluate the exact indication for an adjuvant treatment of patients with cN0/pN+ necks, prospective studies should be performed.     

Surgical therapy for anorectal melanoma

BACKGROUND: Anorectal melanoma is a rare but highly lethal malignancy. Historically, radical resection was considered the "gold standard" for treatment of potentially curable anorectal melanoma. The dismal prognosis of this disease has prompted us to recommend wide local excision as the initial therapeutic approach. The purpose of this study was to review our results in patients who underwent wide local excision or radical surgery (abdominoperineal resection [APR]) for localized anorectal melanoma. STUDY DESIGN: We reviewed the charts of all patients referred for resection of anorectal melanoma between 1988 and 2002. Endpoints included overall survival, disease-free survival, and local, regional, or systemic recurrence. RESULTS: Fifteen patients underwent curative-intent surgery; four underwent APR and 11 underwent wide local excision. Eight patients (53%) are alive; 7 (47%) are disease-free (followup 6 months to 13 years). Of 12 patients who have been followed for more than 2 years, 4 are alive (33%) and 3 are disease-free (25%). Seven patients have been followed for more than 5 years and two are alive and disease-free (29%). All of the longterm survivors underwent local excision as the initial operation. There were no differences in local recurrence, systemic recurrence, disease-free survival, or overall survival between the APR group and the local excision group. Local recurrence occurred in 50% of the APR group and 18% of the local excision group; regional recurrence occurred in 25% versus 27%. Distant metastases were common (75% versus 36%). CONCLUSION: In patients who have undergone resection with curative intent for anorectal melanoma, most recurrences occur systemically regardless of the initial surgical procedure. Local resection does not increase the risk of local or regional recurrence. APR offers no survival advantage over local excision. We advocate wide local excision as primary therapy for anorectal melanoma when technically feasible.     

Local excision of rectal carcinoma

The purpose of this study was to identify the recurrence rate, the salvage rate after recurrence, and the overall survival after local excision of rectal adenocarcinomas. A retrospective medical chart review was performed in 31 consecutive patients with rectal adenocarcinoma who underwent local excision at Roswell Park Cancer Institute from January 1990 through December 1999. After excision nine patients were excluded from further analysis because they were found to have advanced stage on pathologic examination (T2 primary tumors with vascular invasion or T3 tumors). Eight of the nine patients underwent abdominoperineal resection as definitive therapy. In the remaining 22 patients who underwent transanal excision as definitive surgical therapy there were 13 patients with T1 tumors and nine patients with T2 tumors. Overall seven patients (32%) developed local recurrences after local excision. This included four patients with T1 and three patients with T2 primary tumors. All recurrences occurred in the seven patients who did not receive adjuvant chemoradiation. All patients underwent salvage resection of the recurrence. Four patients who underwent salvage resection of the recurrence remain without evidence of disease at a median follow-up of 19.5 months. Local excision without adjuvant therapy has an unacceptably high rate of local recurrence. Although most patients who recur locally are salvaged by radical resection the long-term results after resection remain unknown. The use of adjuvant chemoradiation appears to reduce this high recurrence rate and may eventually become a standard adjunct to local excision of rectal cancer.     

Recurrent cutaneous melanoma of the head and neck.

INTRODUCTION: Recurrent cutaneous melanoma is generally regarded as having an extremely poor prognosis, particularly when regional lymph nodes are involved. A few reports have documented long-term survival among those patients treated for regionally recurrent melanoma. METHODS: This article reviews patients at our institution undergoing complete neck dissection for recurrent head and neck melanoma. RESULTS: Twenty-six patients with locoregionally recurrent cutaneous melanoma of the head and neck underwent complete neck dissection with or without parotidectomy. Seventeen of these procedures were for clinically evident cervical lymphadenopathy, whereas 9 of the neck dissections were done electively. Fourteen of the 17 patients with clinical adenopathy were confirmed to have cervical lymph node metastases. Two of the 9 patients who underwent elective neck dissections had pathologic lymph nodes. At 5 years, 38% of the patients with isolated neck recurrences not also having concurrent primary site recurrence were alive without disease. CONCLUSIONS: These results provide further evidence suggesting a benefit in the form of long-term survival or cure for patients receiving aggressive surgical treatment for resectable recurrent head and neck melanoma involving cervical lymphatics in the absence of distant metastases.     

Elective neck dissection in early‐stage oral squamous cell carcinoma—does it influence recurrence and survival?

BACKGROUND: This study investigates the influence on survival and regional control rates of neck dissection therapy at the time of surgery of the primary tumor in early stages of squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the oral cavity. METHODS: A series of 154 patients with pT1N0M0 and pT2N0M0 intraoral carcinomas was analyzed retrospectively. Neck dissection was associated with tumor ablation in 87 patients (56.5%), although 67 patients (43.5%) were treated with local resection exclusively. Survival and relapse rates were studied with the Kaplan-Meier curves and the log-rank test for univariate analysis and Cox proportional model for multivariate analysis (p < .05). RESULTS: Regional recurrences occurred in 25 cases (16.2%), 7 cases (8%) with primary neck dissection and 18 cases (26.8%) with local excision alone. Neck dissection therapy was a significant prognostic factor for recurrences and survival (p < .05). The 5-year regional control rate was of 92.5% for patients with elective lymph node ablation versus 71.2% for patients without primary neck dissection. Neck dissection was also significant for recurrences in stage I and for survival and recurrences in stage II. Neck dissection therapy also showed independent prognostic value in the Cox analysis. CONCLUSIONS: In patients with intraoral carcinomas, elective neck treatment should be considered even in cases with a small primary tumor and negative clinical examination because of the high incidence of occult nodal metastases and the tendency to regional recurrences.     

The role of skull base surgery for the treatment of adenoid cystic carcinoma of the sinonasal tract.

BACKGROUND: Adenoid cystic carcinoma (ACC) of the sinonasal tract is an aggressive malignancy associated with a poor 5-year survival rate. The role of skull base surgery for the treatment of patients presenting with sinonasal ACC and its impact upon their survival has not previously been evaluated. METHODS: A retrospective review of 35 patients with ACC of the sinonasal tract who were treated with surgery and radiation therapy at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center was performed to evaluate patient outcome. RESULTS: Local recurrence of tumor following surgery and radiation therapy was observed in 36% of the patients originally treated at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. Fourteen percent of these patients developed a regional tumor recurrence, and 21% developed distant metastases. We did not identify any tumor-related factors that predicted patient outcome. Local recurrences were treated with salvage surgical excision, and, despite aggressive management, only 1 of 17 patients with local recurrence was considered cured (NED) at 24 months (follow-up after salvage surgery). Overall, disease-free survival was 46.4%, at a median follow-up of 40 months. CONCLUSIONS: ACC of the sinonasal tract is an aggressive malignancy. Skull base surgery has facilitated the gross total excision of advanced lesions that were deemed inoperable in the past, but has not resulted in an overall improvement in disease-free survival. Local recurrence portends a very poor prognosis, despite aggressive salvage regimens. Alternative therapies for local recurrences warrant further investigation. Prospective, randomized studies are necessary to evaluate the outcome of patients treated with aggressive multimodal treatment regimens, including chemotherapeutic regimens.     

Salvage treatment for recurrent squamous cell carcinoma of the oral cavity

BACKGROUND: Squamous cell carcinoma (SCCA) of the oral cavity recurs with a frequency of 25%-48%, a fact that usually portends a poor prognosis. Recent studies have reported salvage cure rates as high as 67%. Investigators have also claimed that restaging recurrent tumors provides useful prognostic information, although this has not been demonstrated with tumors of the oral cavity. The purposes of this study were: (1) to report the patterns of recurrent SCCA of the oral cavity; (2) to examine the benefit of restaging oral cavity tumors, and (3) to compare different treatment modalities in the management of recurrent SCCA of the oral cavity. Materials and Methods Thirty-eight patients who developed recurrent SCCA of the oral cavity were reviewed. Salvage treatment consisted of surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, or a combination of these modalities. Survival analysis was based on the stage of the primary and recurrent tumors and the type of salvage treatment received. RESULTS: The overall recurrence rate was 28%. Local recurrence was most common (58%) followed by locoregional (27%) and regional recurrence (16%). Patients who recurred more than 6 months after completion of their primary treatment had improved survival compared with those who recurred within 6 months of initial treatment. Individuals with stage I-II primary tumors had significantly improved salvage time and total survival time compared with those with stage III-IV primary tumors (p < 0.005 and p < 0.001). Conversely, the stage of the recurrent tumor was not predictive of either improved salvage time or total survival time. Patients who underwent salvage surgery had significantly improved salvage time and total survival time compared with those who received chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy (p < 0.001 and p < 0.002). The overall salvage cure rate was 21%. Neither the stage of the primary or recurrent tumors nor the type of salvage treatment received significantly correlated with an improved cure rate. However, the group of patients who underwent salvage surgery approached a statistically significant improvement in cure rate (p = 0.08). CONCLUSIONS: Squamous cell carcinoma of the oral cavity is most likely to recur at the primary site. The stage of the primary tumor is significantly correlated with survival even after recurrence, but the stage of the recurrent tumor is not significantly correlated with survival. Patients most likely to benefit from retreatment are those who (1) have primary tumors stage I-II, (2) recur greater than 6 months after their initial treatment, and (3) develop recurrences that are amenable to salvage surgery.     

Selective neck dissection in node-positive squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck

Objective The optimal type of neck dissection in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) with clinical cervical metastases has not been determined. The following study was performed to determine the rate of regional control with selective neck dissection (SND) in these patients. Study Design Case series with planned data collection. Settings Single institution, cancer center. Methods and Subjects Patients with cervical lymph node metastases from mucosal cancers of the head and neck who were treated with SND from 2000 to 2010 were selected. Demographics, tumor characteristics, extent of neck dissection, adjuvant treatments, locoregional control, and survival were recorded. Recurrence in the neck and disease-specific survival (DSS) were primary and secondary end points. Results One hundred eight patients underwent SND. Sixty-nine (64%) were male. Median age was 62 (20-89) years. The most common primary site was the oral cavity (71.3%). Ninety-five (88%) received adjuvant treatment. Median follow-up was 21 months. Six patients (5.5%) had isolated recurrence in the dissected neck. Patients with N2C disease had poorer neck recurrence-free survival. At the end of study, 64 (59.3%) patients had no evidence of disease, and 23 (21.3%) had died of disease. Two-year DSS was 76.9%. Number of positive nodes (P = .026) and positive surgical margins (P = .001), among others, were predictors of poorer DSS. Conclusion In a highly selected group of patients with cervical lymph node metastases from head and neck SCC, selective neck dissection is effective in controlling the disease in the neck when performed in the setting of a multimodality treatment, including adjuvant radiotherapy or radiochemotherapy.     

CANCER OF THE TONGUE AND ORAL CAVITY IN AUCKLAND,NEW ZEALAND, 1970–86

This report comprises a retrospective review of the clinical data on 157 patients seen in the auckland area having a diagnosis of cancer of the tongue, floor of the mouth, inferior alveolus, or buccal mucosa (retromolar area, vestibule of the mouth, and cheek mucosa) during 1970–86. One hundred patients were male, 95% were european, 85% were cigarette smokers, and 58% had a history of high alcohol intake. All primary tumours were squamous cell carcinomas, 50% were located in the tongue, 27% in the floor of the mouth, and 11.5% each in the buccal mucosa and inferior alveolus. The majority (60%) of patients with tongue cancer were clinically stage i at presentation while other intra-oral tumours were evenly distributed between stages i and iv. Surgical resection of the primary intra-oral lesion produced local control in 90% of stage i tumours, but this fell to below 70% in stage ii—iv tumours. Most patients (82%) who recurred locally had positive or ‘close’ margins, and this rate of local tumour recurrence as a consequence of narrow margins did not decrease with the addition of adjuvant radiotherapy. Of those patients with stage i disease who received only treatment of the primary lesion, 20% later developed regional nodal disease which was controlled in more than half by neck dissection, but control was achieved only in 11% of patients treated with radiation. The presence of regional disease at presentation was associated with a poor prognosis. It is concluded that local control of inferior oral cavity tumours can be achieved if resection is accomplished with clear margins. Regional control can be obtained in 50% of patients with neck dissection. Considered together, the high rate of regional recurrence with stage i lesions, and the poor results following salvage therapy (12% 2 year survival) indicate that these patients require as aggressive initial therapy (often involving neck dissection) as do those with more advanced disease.     

Elective neck dissection versus observation in primary parotid carcinoma.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the efficacy of elective neck dissection in the clinically negative neck of patients with primary carcinoma of the parotid gland. Study design and setting A retrospective analysis was undertaken at a university Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery on 83 previously untreated patients with primary carcinoma of the parotid gland and a clinically negative neck. The reliability of fine needle aspiration cytology, frozen section, and the clinico-pathologic findings of patients with occult neck metastases were analyzed. The regional recurrence rate and the outcome were compared among 2 groups; one with elective neck dissection (N = 41) and one without elective neck dissection (N = 42). RESULTS: The diagnosis of malignancy was known preoperatively in 59 (71%) cases, the exact histologic tumor type in 36 (43%) and the grade in 37 (44%) of 83 cases. Occult metastases were detected in 8 (20%) of 41 cNO patients, in 5 cases associated with a high-grade and in 3 cases with a low-grade carcinoma. Recurrence of disease developed in 5 (12%) patients in the elective neck dissection group and in 11 (26%) patients in the observation group. All of the 7 neck recurrences occurred in the observation group. The 5-year actuarial and disease-free survival rate was 80% and 86% for patients with elective neck dissection and 83% and 69% for patients without neck dissection. Conclusion and significance A routine elective neck dissection is suggested in all patients with primary carcinoma of the parotid gland. The efficacy of elective neck dissection, nevertheless, has never been evaluated prospectively.     

The Management of Cervical Lymph Nodes in Patients with Cutaneous Melanoma

Background

The aim of this study was to review the management of cervical lymph nodes in patients with cutaneous melanoma and to analyze factors influencing prognosis.

Methods

This was a retrospective cohort study of patients who had cervical node surgery at the Sydney Melanoma Unit from 1990 to 2004.

Results

Of 716 patients who met the study criteria, 339 had a sentinel node biopsy (SNB) and 396 had a neck dissection. Locoregional recurrence occurred in 27.6?% of those undergoing therapeutic neck dissection and 60?% eventually developed distant metastases. Radiotherapy was given as adjuvant treatment in 110 of the patients who had a therapeutic neck dissection (41?%), but this was not associated with improved regional control (p?=?.322). Multivariate analysis showed that nodal positivity (p?<?.001) and primary tumor ulceration (p?=?<?.027) were the most important predictors of locoregional recurrence and that primary tumor Breslow thickness (p?=?.009) and node positivity (p?=?.046) were the most important factors predicting survival. SNB-positive patients who underwent immediate completion lymphadenectomy had a 5-year survival advantage over those who had a therapeutic neck dissection for macroscopic disease (54?% vs 47?%, p?=?.028).

Conclusions

Nodal status was the most important factor predicting disease-free and overall survival in patients with melanoma of the head and neck. Adjuvant radiotherapy was not associated with better locoregional control in the non-randomized cohorts of patients in this study.     

Aggressive surgical therapy after irradiation failure in treatment of cancer of the oral tongue

Fifty-three consecutive unrandomized patients with squamous cell cancer of the oral tongue were retrospectively studied to compare the results of an aggressive surgical approach performed as primary therapy or as salvage after irradiation failure. Twenty-five patients underwent surgery primarily, while 23 of 28 patients treated with curative irradiation required surgical salvage. Tumor staging was equivalent between the two groups. Local recurrences at the site of origin of the tumor within two years postoperatively were significantly more frequent in salvage patients (10.0%) than in primary surgical patients (5.5%). Cervical lymph node recurrences within five years were more frequent in the salvage surgery group (74.8% v 36.7%). Systemic metastases developed in a similar proportion in both groups. Determinate five-year survivals were nearly identical (55.2% v 55.5%). Although recurrence rates were significantly higher after irradiation and salvage surgery, an aggressive surgical effort in patients who are irradiation failures can result in five-year survival rates matching those of surgical patients.     

Patterns of recurrence after resection of osteosarcoma of the extremity. Strategies for treatment of metastases

We studied recurrence patterns in 255 patients with high-grade osteosarcoma of the extremity and the efficacy of the treatment of these recurrences. One hundred seven patients developed metastatic disease: 77 had isolated pulmonary metastases, 17 had simultaneous metastases to lung and elsewhere, and 13 had metastases to other sites. Of the 77 patients with metastases confined to the lung, 51 (66%) underwent thoracotomy for resection of the metastases, and 13 (17%) are long-term disease-free survivors. Patients with simultaneous metastases to lung and other sites, and patients with metastases to sites other than lung, have a poor prognosis with only one long-term disease-free survivor in these groups. Thoracotomy has a limited role in the treatment of metastatic disease. Improvements in aggressive, systemic chemotherapy are essential for improving the prognosis in these patients.