AUTHOR=Zhu Fengjie , Sun Shuhan , Ba Kai 

TITLE=Comparison Between PET-CT–Guided Neck Dissection and Elective Neck Dissection in cT1-2N0 Tongue Squamous Cell Carcinoma

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Oncology

VOLUME=10

YEAR=2020

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/oncology/articles/10.3389/fonc.2020.00720

DOI=10.3389/fonc.2020.00720

ISSN=2234-943X

ABSTRACT=<p><bold>Objective:</bold> Neck management in cT1-2N0 tongue squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) remains controversial. Our goal was to compare the survival difference between PET-CT–guided neck dissection and elective neck dissection (END) for the treatment of cT1-2 tongue SCC.</p><p><bold>Methods:</bold> Patients with surgically treated cT1-2N0 tongue SCC were retrospectively enrolled. These patients were divided into two groups. Group A: The decision of whether to perform neck dissection was mainly based on the results of preoperative PET-CT examinations. Group B: Patients received END treatment without preoperative PET-CT examinations. The study endpoints were regional control (RC) and disease-specific survival (DSS). The Kaplan–Meier method was used to calculate the survival rates.</p><p><bold>Results:</bold> Group A consisted of 66 patients, and 16 patients underwent neck dissection owing to positive PET-CT results. Group B consisted of 169 patients. The 5-year RC rates in group A and group B were 86 and 87%, respectively, and the difference was not significant (<italic>p</italic> = 0.731). The 5-year DSS rates in group A and group B were 93 and 90%, respectively, and the difference was not significant (<italic>p</italic> = 0.583).</p><p><bold>Conclusions:</bold> Neck dissection can be safely avoided when the PET-CT scan reveals no neck lymph node involvement.</p>