THE ROLE OF PROPHYLACTIC SUPRAHYOID DISSECTION IN LOWER LIP CANCERS

Lower lip squamous cell carcinoma is known to be the most frequent tumor in oral cavity and highly curable with surgery. Surgical treatment depends on the size of the tumor and regional lymph node status, and changes in a wide range from excision to radical neck dissection. Patients with lower lip cancer (482 patients with T2-T3 tumors, clinically node negative) who had prophlactic suprahyoid dissection were analyzed retrospectively between 1980-1991. There were 27 female, 445 male patients and the mean age was 49.4 years. According to the tumor size 445 of them were T2 and 27 were T3. Ulceration in tumor was seen in 437 cases. After prophylactic dissection metastatic lymph nodes (one node) were seen in 26 cases. In follow-up local recurrences were seen in 24 and metastatic disease in 26 (19 regional, 7 distant) cases. Mean local recurrence time was 28.33 and mean metastases time was 19.58 months. There were 237 cases who lives more than 5 years, and 30 less than 5 years, while 205 cases were out of follow. Mean follow-up period was measured as 68.57 months. For all cases multivariate Cox Regression analyze was made for evaluating the effective factors on survival. Age and metastatic spread were found to be the most effective factors on survival (p<0.05). Cumulative survival rates were measured as 96% for 5 years and 93% for ten years. In conclusion we can say that with prophylactic suprahyoid dissection for T2-T3 tumors in lower lip cancer we could obtain lower regional metastases and higher survival rates.