Survival Benefit of Elective Neck Dissection in T1,2N0M0 Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Overview

Controversy over surgical treatment of clinically negative neck in early stage oral squamous cell carcinoma revolves around the uncertainty of its impact on patient prognosis. The efficacy of elective neck dissection on prognosis in T1, 2 N0M0 patients continues to be the subject of clinical debate. Currently the clinically negative patients are treated by one of the two main policies: one is elective neck dissection; the other is "watchful waiting". The objective of this multi-institutional prospective randomized controlled study is to evaluate the survival benefit of elective neck dissection on the prognosis of T1, 2 N0M0 patients with carcinoma of oral cavity. The enrolled patients with T1, 2 N0M0 oral cancer will be randomized into two groups: elective neck dissection versus watch and wait. The survival rate and the recurrence rate between two groups will be compared. The result of the study will give surgeons evidence-based instructions for the management of clinically negative neck in patients with cancer of oral cavity.

There are controversies on the benefits of elective neck dissection (END) for clinically negative neck in early stage oral squamous cell carcinoma. The aim of this study is to determine the need for a randomized controlled trial in order to evaluate the survival benefit of elective neck dissection on the prognosis of T1, 2 N0M0 patients with carcinoma of oral cavity. We initiate this multi-institutional study, expecting 448 primary oral cancer patients to be enrolled. And we are going to randomly divide these patients into two groups: END and "watch and wait". The END group will undergo one stage surgery of END and primary tumor excision, and the "watch and wait"group will be treated with primary tumor excision transorally as initial treatment, with rigorous postoperation consultation. All patients will be followed up with at least 5 years after initial treatment, and the survival rate and the recurrence rate between groups will be compared.