Prospective randomized study of selective neck dissection versus observation for N0 neck of early tongue carcinoma.

Background: There are controversies on the benefits of elective neck dissection (END) for oral tongue carcinoma.

Method: This is a prospective randomized study of elective selective I, II, III neck dissection versus observation for N0 neck of stage I to II oral tongue carcinoma. There were 35 patients on the observation arm and 36 patients on the END arm.