PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - WIEGAND, SUSANNE
AU  - ESTERS, JUDITH
AU  - MÜLLER, HANS-HELGE
AU  - JÄCKER, TIMM
AU  - PAPASPYROU, GIORGOS
AU  - ROEßLER, MARION
AU  - WERNER, JOCHEN A.
AU  - SESTERHENN, ANDREAS M.
TI  - Relevance of Oropharyngeal Cancer Lymph Node Metastases in the Submandibular Triangle and the Posterior Triangle Apex
DP  - 2009 Nov 01
TA  - Anticancer Research
PG  - 4785--4790
VI  - 29
IP  - 11
4099  - http://ar.iiarjournals.org/content/29/11/4785.short
4100  - http://ar.iiarjournals.org/content/29/11/4785.full
SO  - Anticancer Res2009 Nov 01; 29
AB  - Background: Neck dissection of levels I and IIB is time consuming and can cause several comorbidities. The aim was to analyze whether levels I and IIB need to be dissected in patients with oropharyngeal cancer and clinical N0 or N+ neck. Patients and Methods: A retrospective analysis of 77 patients with oropharyngeal cancer was carried out with evaluation of the incidence of neck node metastasis in levels I and IIB. Results: None of the patients with cN0 neck had metastases in level I or IIB; 12.8% of the patients with cN+ neck had metastases in level I, 35.1% in level IIA and 25.6% had metastases in level IIB. Conclusion: Levels I and IIB should be dissected in cN+ neck in order to achieve maximal oncological safety. The preservation of levels I and IIB in cN0 neck seems to be justified in terms of improving functional results and concomitant reduction of operation time.