Occult metastases of oral maxillary squamous cell carcinoma: Systematic review and meta‐analysis

Abstract

Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) is the most common malignant neoplasm of the oral cavity. The performance of END (elective neck dissection) in cases of maxillary SCC is controversial because the literature traditionally classified maxillary tumors as having low metastatic potential. The aim of this systematic review and meta‐analysis was to determine the percentage of occult cervical metastases in maxillary SCC to identify in which cases there is the need to perform an END. We searched the PubMed database to select articles dated from 2000 to 2020 that fulfilled our inclusion criteria; finally, we reviewed 27 manuscripts. We show that the overall cervical and occult metastases rate was 35% and 19%, respectively. For T1, the percentage of occult metastasis rate was 11%; for T2, it was 16%; for T3, it was 20%; and for T4, it was 32%. We suggest END (levels I–II–III) as treatment to T3/T4 cN0 patients.

Role of elective neck dissection in cT2N0 maxillary sinus squamous cell carcinoma

“…The evaluation of predictors for occult metastasis had been extensively investigated in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma 15 . However, our study was the first to specifically explore potential factors for predicting LN involvement in MS-SCC.…”

Multimodal Prediction of Cervical Lymph Node Metastasis and Recurrence in Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma

“…In addition, due to the high rate of CLN metastasis in OSCC (approx. 20%-40%), prophylactic neck dissection is recommended even in Stage 1 and Stage 2 cases, considering the tumor thickness and other clinical findings (5,(14)(15)(16). However, neck dissection can result in complications such as the paralysis of various nerves, cervico-omo-brachial syndrome, and facial edema (17).…”