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Prevalence of Submandibular Gland Involvement in Neck Dissection Specimens of Patients With Oral Cavity Carcinoma Publisher Pubmed



Mazarei A1 ; Khamushian P2 ; Sadeghi Ivraghi M3 ; Heidari F1 ; Saeedi N1 ; Golparvaran S1 ; Yazdani N1 ; Aghazadeh K1
Authors
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Authors Affiliations
  1. 1. Otorhinolaryngology Research Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
  2. 2. Internal Medicine Research Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
  3. 3. Department of Medicine, School of Medicine, Qazvin University of Medical Sciences, Qazvin, Iran

Source: American Journal of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Medicine and Surgery Published:2022


Abstract

Introduction: The submandibular gland is commonly removed during neck dissection in patients with head and neck cancer. The patient experiences various complications due to the removal of the submandibular gland. Therefore, the necessity of submandibular gland removal should be evaluated. This study aimed to was to determine the frequency of submandibular gland (SMG) involvement in patients with oral cavity squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). Methods: In this retrospective study, medical records of patients with oral cavity cancer who were referred to Amir Alam Hospital between 2015 and 2020 were reviewed. Patient data includes surgical report, histopathology report (tumor size, number of lymph nodes involved, and SMG tumor involvement), Tumor Location, History of Smoking, History of Opium, and Alcohol consumption was extracted from patients' medical records and statistically analyzed using SPSS software version 20. Results: Of the total 60 patients, 24 (40%) were female and 36 (60%) were male. Smoking was reported in 55% of patients with a mean of 4.11 pack-year. Alcohol and opium use was observed in 18.3% and 26% of patients. The majority of patients (78.3%) had tongue cancer. More than half of the patients (53.3%) reported tumors of 2 cm or smaller, and 16.7% of patients had tumors larger than 4 cm. The majority of patients (80.3%) did not have cervical lymph node metastasis, 13.1% had 1–2 involved lymph nodes and 4.9% had 3 to 6 involved lymph nodes and there were no cases of metastasis to more than 6 lymph nodes. Finally, no individual had submandibular gland involvement, ie 100% of patients had no submandibular gland metastasis. Conclusion: The results confirmed that SMG involvement is very rare in patients with oral SCC and therefore it is not necessary to remove the gland as part of treatment. Preservation of the submandibular gland prevents complications related to the removal of this gland and reduces morbidity and increases the quality of life of patients after surgery. © 2021 Elsevier Inc.