Rate of Occult Cervical Lymph Node Involvement in Supraglottic Squamous Cell Carcinoma

INTRODUCTION: To assess the rate of cervical lymph node involvement in patients with supraglottic squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) with no lymph node in clinical assessments and radiological studies. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Fifty-six patients who underwent elective dissection of the cervical lymph node of the second through fourth level were enrolled, and pathologic evaluation of the dissected lymph nodes was performed. Lymph node involvement and association between tumor grade, smoking and gender with lymph node involvement were assessed. RESULTS: The rate of the occult neck metastasis in this series was 37.5%. There was no statistically significant association between lymph node involvement and tumor grade, smoking, or gender. CONCLUSION: Based on the results of our study, we recommend elective bilateral neck dissection in all stages of N0 supraglottic SCC patients.