Elective vs Therapeutic Neck Dissection in Treatment of Early Node Negative Squamous Carcinoma of Oral Cavity

Cervical nodal metastasis is the single most important prognostic factor in head and neck cancers. Appropriate management of the neck is therefore of paramount importance in the treatment of these cancers. While it is obvious that the positive neck must be treated, controversy has always surrounded the clinically node negative neck with respect to the ideal treatment policy.The situation is difficult with regards to early cancers of the oral cavity (T1/T2). These cancers are usually treated with surgery where excision is through the per-oral route. Elective neck dissection in such a situation is an additional surgical procedure with its associated costs, prolonged hospitalization and may be unnecessary in as high as 80% of patients who finally turn out to be pathologically node negative. Should the neck be electively treated or there be a wait and watch policy? Current practice is that the neck is always addressed whenever there is an increased propensity to cervical metastasis or when patient follow-up is unreliable. There is clearly a need therefore for a large randomized trial that will resolve the issue either way once and for all. Primary Objective: To demonstrate whether elective neck dissection (END) is equal or superior to the wait and watch policy i.e. therapeutic neck dissection (TND) in the management of the clinically No neck in early T1 /T2 cancers of the oral cavity. Secondary Objective: 1. Does Ultrasound examination have any role in the routine initial workup of a node negative patient? 2. How are patients ideally followed up -does sonography have a role or is clinical examination sufficient. 3. Is assessment of tumor thickness by the surgeon at the time of initial surgery accurate -Is there a correlation 4. Identify histological prognostic factors in the primary that may help identify a sub-set of patients at an increased risk for cervical metastasis.

Sex

All

Minimum age

18 Years

Maximum age

75 Years

Inclusion Criteria:

1. Histologically proven T1 or T2 N0 M0 (clinical) squamous cell carcinoma of the buccal mucosa, lower alveolus, oral tongue and floor of mouth.
2. Surgery is the preferred treatment and the primary tumor can be excised with clear margins via the per-oral route.
3. No history of a prior malignancy in the head and neck region.
4. No prior malignancy outside the head and neck region in the preceding 5 years.
5. Patient will be reliable for follow-up
6. Age\> 18 years and \< 75 years.
7. No significant co-morbid conditions - ASA grade II and I.
8. Understands the protocol and is able to give informed consent.

Exclusion Criteria:

1. Prior radiotherapy or surgery for malignancy in the head and neck region.
2. Non squamous cell carcinomas of the oral cavity.
3. Upper alveolus and palatal lesions where there is a possibility of retropharyngeal node involvement.
4. Per-oral excision of tumor will compromise margins in the opinion of the treating surgeon.
5. Significant co-existing pre-malignant conditions like erytho-leucoplakia and oral sub mucous fibrosis that in the opinion of the clinician would interfere in the planned treatment management of the patient.

• DERIVEDWorthington HV, Bulsara VM, Glenny AM, Clarkson JE, Conway DI, Macluskey M. Interventions for the treatment of oral cavity and oropharyngeal cancers: surgical treatment. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2023 Aug 31;8(8):CD006205. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD006205.pub5. PMID 37650478
• DERIVEDD'Cruz AK, Vaish R, Kapre N, Dandekar M, Gupta S, Hawaldar R, Agarwal JP, Pantvaidya G, Chaukar D, Deshmukh A, Kane S, Arya S, Ghosh-Laskar S, Chaturvedi P, Pai P, Nair S, Nair D, Badwe R; Head and Neck Disease Management Group. Elective versus Therapeutic Neck Dissection in Node-Negative Oral Cancer. N Engl J Med. 2015 Aug 6;373(6):521-9. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa1506007. Epub 2015 May 31. PMID 26027881