A clinical evaluation of preventive radiotherapy for the neck metastasis of tongue cancer

Abstract

Forty patients of Tx No squamous cell carcinoma of mobile tongue were treated at Kobe University, Departments of Otolaryngology and Radiology between November 1975 and October 1980. Twenty-three patients had preventive neck irradiation prior to the local treatment. Six of these patients subsequently developed a neck nodal metastasis. The primary lesion was uncontrolled in 4 of these 23 cases.Eight of the 17 without neck irradiation subsequently developed a neck nodal metastasis within 1 year and the primary lesion was uncontrolled in 7 of these 17 cases. The rate of lymph node metastasis in T1 and T2 patients with neck irradiation was significantly lower than that in those without neck irradiation. Post-irradiation necrosis of the mandible occurred in 3 of the 23 patients with preventive irradiation. We consider that the preventive neck irradiation for the patients with T1 and T2, No tongue cancer is effective in destroying subclinical metastasis and the mandible should not be included in the irradiation field.