Current thinking in management of the neck (including contralateral neck) in ipsilateral recurrent or second primary oral squamous cell carcinoma

Metastasis to the neck in patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) has a huge impact on long-term survival and prognosis, and its incidence varies. Due consideration therefore should be given to management of the neck in each individual case. The pathways in patients with primary oral SCC are well-established, but there is a paucity of published papers on management of the neck in those with ipsilateral recurrent or second primary oral SCC whose necks have previously been operated on with or without radiotherapy or chemoradiotherapy, or treated with radiotherapy or chemoradiotherapy alone. These patients may be under treated because of failure to stage the most likely drainage site, and are likely to have a worse outcome if there is macroscopic recurrence in the neck after independent treatment of the recurrent or second primary tumour. Based on the current review, we think there is a need for a multicentre, collaborative, retrospective review of the outcomes of patients with ipsilateral second primaries or recurrent oral SCC in the previously treated neck. Our recommendations include consideration of positron emission tomography-computed tomography in all patients with recurrent or second primary oral SCC (if “hot” – neck dissection, if “cold” - sentinel node biopsy); consideration of sentinel node biopsy in all patients with recurrent or second primary oral SCC who have previously had treatment to the neck; and finally, consideration of definitive management of the sentinel biopsy zone or region if the node is invaded.