Efficacy of supraomohyoid neck dissection in patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma and negative neck

Background Supraomohyoid neck dissection (SOHND) has been identified as an appropriate staging procedure to provide valuable pathologic information of the neck for patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma. However, the role of SOHND as a therapeutic procedure, compared with the oncologic results of radical neck dissection, remains controversial for lack of adequate data in current literature. Methods Patients with oral SCC who underwent elective SOHND and radical neck dissection (RND) between January 1, 1993, and December 31, 1999, were retrospectively reviewed. The 2 types of treatment were analyzed for incidence of neck recurrence and survival probabilities. Results No significant differences were found between patients treated with SOHND versus RND. Occult metastasis rate, regional disease-free survival, overall and disease-free survival, and distant metastasis-free survival rates were found to be comparable. Conclusions SOHND compares favorably with RND for the staging and treatment of patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma and negative neck.