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Retropharyngeal Lymph Node Metastasis in 54 Patients with Oropharyngeal Squamous Cell Carcinoma Who Underwent Surgery-Based Treatment

  • Head and Neck Oncology
  • Published:
Annals of Surgical Oncology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Background

This study aimed to determine the incidence, risk factors, and prognostic significance of retropharyngeal lymph node (RPLN) metastasis from malignancies of the oropharynx.

Methods

The study retrospectively analyzed 54 patients with oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma who underwent primary surgery-based treatment. Most of the patients had advanced stage (stage 3 or 4, 96.3 %) oropharyngeal cancer. Surgery alone was performed for 14 patients. Postoperative radiotherapy was administered to 14 patients and chemoradiation to 26 patients. Genotyping and detection of human papillomavirus (HPV) was available for 52 patients.

Results

Using pathologic analysis, RPLN metastasis was confirmed in 22 subjects. The patients with RPLN metastasis had a significantly lower disease-specific survival rate than the non-RPLN metastasis group (54.5 vs 75 %; p = 0.05). The pN+ (RPLN) yield of these cases was 18/22 (81.8 %) for cN+ (RPLN) versus 4/32 (7.4 %) for cN0 (RPLN). Multivariate analysis identified the independent factors associated with RPLN metastasis as radiographically positive retropharyngeal node (p = 0.012; odds ratio [OR] 53.920) and posterior pharyngeal wall invasion (p = 0.021; OR 33.014). A high-risk HPV-positive result was not significantly correlated with RPLN metastasis.

Conclusions

Elective RPLN dissection should be considered for patients with advanced neck and primary tumor, particularly those with posterior pharyngeal wall invasion.

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Acknowledgment

This research was supported by the Basic Science Research Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) funded by the Ministry of Education (2014R1A1A2059344).

Disclosures

There are no conflicts of interest.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Otorhinolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea

    Eun-Jae Chung MD, PhD

  2. Department of Otorhinolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery, Ilsong Memorial Institute of Head and Neck Cancer, Hallym University, College of Medicine, 445 Gil-dong, Kangdong-gu, Seoul, Korea

    Go-Woon Kim MD, Bum-Ki Cho MD & Young-Soo Rho MD, PhD

  3. Department of Pathology, Ilsong Memorial Institute of Head and Neck Cancer, Hallym University, College of Medicine, 445 Gil-dong, Kangdong-gu, Seoul, Korea

    Sung-Jin Cho MD, PhD

  4. Department of Radiology, Hallym University, College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea

    Dae-Young Yoon MD, PhD

Authors
  1. Eun-Jae Chung MD, PhD
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  2. Go-Woon Kim MD
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  3. Bum-Ki Cho MD
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  4. Sung-Jin Cho MD, PhD
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  5. Dae-Young Yoon MD, PhD
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  6. Young-Soo Rho MD, PhD
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Young-Soo Rho MD, PhD.

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Chung, EJ., Kim, GW., Cho, BK. et al. Retropharyngeal Lymph Node Metastasis in 54 Patients with Oropharyngeal Squamous Cell Carcinoma Who Underwent Surgery-Based Treatment. Ann Surg Oncol 22, 3049–3054 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1245/s10434-014-4364-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1245/s10434-014-4364-4

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