Multivariate predictors of occult neck metastasis in early oral tongue cancer.

Objectives: The elective dissection of cervical lymph nodes from patients with early oral tongue cancer and a clinically negative neck (T1/T2N0), remains an unsettled issue that continues to be investigated. This study examines clinical and histopathologic factors through univariate and multivariate analysis to correlate the risk of neck micrometastasis in patients with T1/T2N0 squamous cell carcinoma of the oral tongue.

Study Design And Methods: The clinical files and histologic sections of tumor from 45 clinically determined N0 patients were retrospectively analyzed.