Contralateral neck recurrence of squamous cell carcinoma of oral cavity and oropharynx

A review of clinical and histological parameters associated with contralateral neck metastases in oral squamous cell carcinoma

“…Therefore, some surgeons advocate an observation-only policy for the contralateral neck [15]. On the other hand, bilateral neck dissection was not significantly associated with a decrease in contralateral metastasis [14,17] and has not been shown to have an advantage in previous reports. For example, Lim et al found that the difference between the disease-free survival rates of 82% for the -observation‖ group and 68% for the elective neck dissection group was not statistically significant [15].…”

“…Some authors recognize that contralateral metastases of head and neck carcinomas can occur in different ways: firstly, by crossing afferent lymph vessels; and second by tumor spreading over the midline to reach efferent collateral lymphatic vessels while ipsilateral lymph nodes are extensively involved, where there is not a real midline barrier in certain anatomic areas [7]. The incidence of CLNM differs considerably among institutions from 0.9% to 36% [6,[8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21].…”

“…first year: every month [14,108]; second year: every 2 months [14]; third year: every 3 months [13][14]; thereafter: biannually for life [13][14].…”

Frequency of bilateral cervical metastases in oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma: A retrospective analysis of 352 cases after bilateral neck dissection

“…In addition to size and location of the primary, the N classification of the ipsilateral neck seems to be an important predictor of contralateral neck metastases. [10][11][12][13][14] In this study patients with 2 or more ipsilateral neck metastases showed significantly more bilateral metastases compared with patients with fewer than 2 positive ipsilateral lymph nodes.…”

Simultaneous Bilateral Neck Dissection

“…The status of the regional lymphatics is one of the most important prognostic indicators in patients with head and neck cancer 5,6,7,8 . Treatment of the neck in patients with clinical evidence of nodal metastasis has traditionally been surgical, that is systematic removal of all the lymphatic tissues called as radical neck dissection (RND) described by Crile and later popularized by Martin 9,10,11 .Dissemination of metastatic cancer to regional lymph nodes from primary sites in the upper aerodigestive tract occurs in a predictable and sequential fashion.…”