Effectiveness of selective neck dissection in head and neck cancer: the experience of two Italian centers.

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the oncologic outcomes after a selective neck dissection (SND), both in elective and therapeutic settings, with particular regard to regional recurrence rate.

Methods: Retrospective analysis of 827 patients with head and neck primary tumors submitted to SND from 1999 to 2011 in two large hospital centers of northern Italy.

Results: A total of 40 neck recurrences were found in the whole series, with the same incidence after primary or salvage surgery (4.

Postoperative reduced dose of cisplatin concomitant with radiation therapy in high- risk head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.

Background: The role of low doses of cisplatin and concomitant postoperative radiotherapy in high risk head and neck squamous cell carcinoma has not yet been defined.

Methods: Patients treated with definitive surgery, who had histological evidence of involvement of more than 2 lymph nodes, extracapsular extension of disease, perineural and/or intravascular invasion, involved or close surgical margins, received postoperative radiotherapy plus 75 mg/m(2) of cisplatin every 3 weeks during the radiotherapy cycle. The primary endpoints were to evaluate treatment compliance and overall, cause-specific, and disease-free survival.

Organ preservation in locally advanced head and neck cancer of the larynx using induction chemotherapy followed by improved radiation schemes.

The present prospective study seeks to evaluate overall and disease free survival, response and organ preservation rate, and toxicity of an intensive chemotherapy regimen (CT) followed by unconventional radiotherapy (RT) in patients with locally advanced operable head and neck cancer. Between January 1998 and December 2006 (June 2005), 115 patients with locally advanced, operable head and neck cancer were evaluated. A total of 333 cycles of neoadjuvant CT (cisplatin-5FU, days 1, 14, 28) followed by hyperfractionated/accelerated radiotherapy were given to 108 patients.

Gamma probe accuracy in detecting the sentinel lymph node in clinically N0 squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck.

The sentinel node, which is not always located at the first-echelon nodal area close to the primary tumor, is the initial recipient of possible metastasis. In order to verify the usefulness of the sentinel lymph node technique in the staging of head and neck cancers, we studied 31 untreated patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the upper airways by injecting them around the primary tumor with technetium 99m albumin microcolloid (99mTc) and submitting them to selective neck dissection with en bloc tumor removal. The nodes were examined after gamma-probe identification of the sentinel node(s).