[Results of studies on head and neck cancer. 2. Application of the guideline proposed by Japan Society of Head and Neck Tumor].
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There have been two major opinions on the pathology or nature of the bladder neck contracture. One is an organic fibrosis, and the other is an accentuated sympathetic nervous function, or detrusor bladder neck dyssynergia. The existence of active detrusor bladder neck dyssynergia in neurogenic bladder was reported in a urodynamical manner using microtip transducer catheters. However, it has not been confirmed whether or not detrusor bladder neck dyssynergia is responsible for bladder neck contracture in patient without neurogenic bladder. The present study was designed to determine by means of video urodynamic study whether or not bladder neck contracture would be of the same nature as detrusor bladder neck dyssynergia in non-neurogenic bladder subjects. The study included 32 male subjects of 16-84 years old (average 52.3): 17 bladder neck contracture subjects including 7 subjects associated with minimum complications (4 with trapped benign prostatic hyperplasia and 3 with incomplete neurological lesion) and 15 non-bladder neck contracture subjects (10 healthy volunteers, 2 chronic prostatitis, 3 prostatodynia). A 5-microtip transducer catheter was used to measure the pressure in the bladder and at the bladder neck, the external urethral sphincter and the bulbous urethra during voiding. Proper localization of the transducers was done with an image intensifier. Bladder outlet obstruction localized at the bladder neck (diameters smaller than 0.75 cm) on voiding cystourethrogram was defined as bladder neck contracture. Detrusor bladder neck dyssynergia was defined where pressures were higher at the level of bladder neck than in the bladder during detrusor contraction. An alpha-blocker, terazosin hydrochloride (0.5 mg, b.i.d., two weeks), was orally administered to subjects judged to have detrusor bladder neck dyssynergia by the above methods for the purpose of confirming whether detrusor bladder neck dyssynergia was really due to accentuated sympathetic nervous function. Detrusor bladder neck dyssynergia was found in seven cases with bladder neck contracture: 6 cases with bladder neck contracture with minimum complications and only 1 case with bladder neck contracture without complications (p < 0.01). Detrusor bladder neck dyssynergia was found at the beginning and ending of micturition, but not at maximum flow. In six cases with detrusor bladder neck dyssynergia, the condition disappeared after terazosin. In conclusion, detrusor bladder neck dyssynergia was not thought to be a major factor of voiding dysfunction in bladder neck contracture in non-neurogenic bladder. In the presence of sympathetic hyperactivity or in cases with increased number of alphareceptors, detrusor bladder neck dyssynergia occurs, being predominantly noted in trapped benign prostatic hyperplasia and neurological disorder patients.
OBJECTIVES: To assess the role of selective neck dissection in patients with squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the oral tongue with advanced nodal disease, and to assess the role of postoperative radiotherapy in patients with SCC of the oral tongue with pathologically N1 necks. DESIGN: Retrospective study of the medical records of all patients who underwent neck dissection for SCC of the oral tongue from January 1, 1980, to December 31, 1995. Median follow-up was 5.7 years. SETTING: The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, a tertiary care cancer hospital. PATIENTS: A total of 220 patients with SCC of the oral tongue who received surgical treatment of both the primary tumor and the neck and who had an identifiable type of neck dissection, no synchronous or metachronous lesions, and no evidence of local recurrence. INTERVENTIONS: All patients underwent resection of the primary tumor and neck dissection. The extent of neck dissection was determined by surgeon preference. Some patients received radiotherapy to the neck as well. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Clinical and pathological nodal status, type of neck dissection, and use of radiotherapy. The end points evaluated included the regional control rates. RESULTS: For clinically N+ patients, 5 of 45 treated with selective neck dissection and 1 of 19 treated with radical or modified radical neck dissection had recurrences in the ipsilateral neck. If only patients with significant tumor burden on final pathological examination (clinically N+/pathologically N2) are considered, 4 (25.0%) of 16 patients undergoing selective neck dissection had recurrences in the neck, while none of the 14 patients treated with radical or modified radical neck dissection had recurrences in the ipsilateral neck (P = .07). Of the 50 patients who had pathologically N1 disease, 25 received postoperative radiotherapy and 25 did not. Of the latter, 2 had recurrences in the neck, while none of the 25 patients who received radiotherapy had recurrences in the neck (P = .24). CONCLUSIONS: Selective neck dissection may be sufficient for many N+ patients with SCC of the oral tongue, but some patients with extensive nodal disease may benefit from more aggressive treatment of the neck. Radiotherapy may be beneficial for all of the node-positive patients, but further studies are needed. Prospective, randomized clinical trials will be useful in further defining the role of selective neck dissection in the clinically N2 neck and radiotherapy in the N1 neck for patients with SCC of the oral tongue.
BACKGROUND: Management of the clinically negative neck among patients with oral and oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma at the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Sydney, Australia has been based on the site and stage of the primary cancer, the likely incidence of microscopic nodal involvement, the treatment modality used for the primary cancer, and whether the neck will be entered during resection or reconstruction. This report analyzes the results of treatment when patients are allocated to either treatment or observation of the neck based on these clinical factors. METHODS: This is a prospectively documented series of 162 consecutively treated patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the oral cavity and oropharynx and clinically negative necks, treated by 1 surgeon (C.J.O.). There were 128 oral cavity and 34 oropharyngeal cancers clinically staged at T1 for 62 patients, T2 for 61, T3 for 16, and T4 for 23 patients. Management of the neck consisted of elective neck dissection (END) in 96 patients (12 bilateral), elective radiotherapy in 8, and observation in 58. Neck treatment correlated with the T stage in a statistically significant way. Forty-six patients underwent postoperative radiotherapy, which was directed to the neck in 22 patients because of pathological findings following neck dissection. Free-flap reconstruction was used in 90 patients. RESULTS: Metastatic squamous cell carcinoma was identified in 32 of 108 neck dissections (30%). There was 1 positive node in 15 necks, 2 positive nodes in 11 necks, and 3 or more positive nodes in 6 necks. Extracapsular spread was present in 8 of 32 positive END specimens (25%). Regional control rates in the neck at 3 years were 94% for END, 100% for elective radiotherapy, and 98% for patients initially observed and then treated by therapeutic neck dissection. Death with uncontrolled disease in the neck occurred in 4 of 96 patients (4%) after END and 1 of 58 patients (2%) after neck observation. Overall disease-specific survival was 83%, comprising an 86% rate for patients with pathologically negative necks and 68% if pathologically positive. Disease-specific survival was 86% at 3 years for patients having END, 67% following radiotherapy, and 94% for the observation group. CONCLUSIONS: Elective neck dissection was performed in most patients, and occult metastatic disease was found in nearly 30% of neck dissections. Observation was most frequently used for patients with early stage disease, and subsequent development of neck metastases was uncommon (9%) in this group. Selective treatment of the clinically negative neck based on the primary tumor site and stage led to a high rate of regional disease control in this series.
PURPOSE: Minimal literature exists with 10-year data on neck control in advanced head and neck cancer. The purpose of this study is to determine long-term regional control for base of tongue carcinoma patients treated with primary radiation therapy plus neck dissection. METHODS AND MATERIALS: Between 1981-1996, primary radiation therapy was used to treat 68 patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the base of tongue. Neck dissection was added for those who presented with palpable lymph node metastases. The T-stage distribution was T1, 17; T2, 32; T3, 17; and T4, 2. The N-stage distribution was N0, 10; N1, 24; N2a, 6; N2b, 11, N2c, 8; N3, 7; and Nx, 2. Ages ranged from 35 to 77 (median 55 years) among the 59 males and nine females. Therapy generally consisted of initial external beam irradiation to the primary site (54 Gy) and neck (50 Gy). Clinically positive necks were boosted to 60 Gy with external beam irradiation. Three weeks later, the base of tongue was boosted with an Ir-192 interstitial implant (20-30 Gy). A neck dissection was done at the same anesthesia for those who presented with clinically positive necks, even if a complete clinical neck response was achieved with external beam irradiation. Neoadjuvant cisplatin-based chemotherapy was administered to nine patients who would have required a total laryngectomy if their primary tumors had been surgically managed. The median follow-up was 36 months with a range from 1 to 151 months. Eleven patients were followed for over 8 years. No patients were lost to follow-up. RESULTS: Actuarial 5- and 10-year neck control was 96% overall, 86% after radiation alone, and 100% after radiation plus neck dissection. Pathologically negative neck specimens were observed in 70% of necks dissected after external beam irradiation. The remaining 30% of dissected necks were pathologically positive. These specimens contained multiple positive nodes in 83% despite a 56% overall complete clinical neck response rate to irradiation. Regional failure occurred in only two patients, neither of whom underwent adjuvant neck dissection. Symptomatic neck fibrosis (RTOG grade 3) was not observed. Actuarial 5- and 10-year local control was 88% and 88%, disease-free survival was 80% and 67%, and overall survival was 86% and 52%. CONCLUSION: For base of tongue cancer, most patients can obtain long-term regional control with no severe complications after definitive radiation therapy, plus neck dissection for those who present with lymphadenopathy. Complete clinical regression of palpable neck metastases after irradiation poorly correlates with pathologic outcome. Our current policy is to include neck dissection at the time of implantation for patients who present with palpable neck metastases. We realize that this therapeutic approach may overtreat some patients, but we are reluctant to change our policy in light of these excellent outcomes.
PURPOSE: For patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck with palpable neck node metastases, the standard management of the neck usually involves neck dissection and postoperative neck irradiation. A strategy of larynx preservation with induction chemotherapy and radiation therapy has been utilized for patients with locally advanced resectable cancer of the larynx, hypopharynx, and oropharynx. For patients treated in this non-surgical manner for the primary site, the optimal management of the clinically positive neck has not been clarified. To determine whether response to induction chemotherapy could help to select patients in whom neck dissection could be omitted in favor of definitive radiation therapy alone, we have analyzed our prospective larynx preservation experience. METHOD AND MATERIALS: Between 1983-1989, 80 patients were entered onto larynx preservation protocols involving 1-3 cycles of cisplatin based chemotherapy followed by radiation therapy with or without neck dissection. There were 54 patients with clinically positive necks to treatment, of whom 44% (24/54) had a complete response, and of whom 20% (11/54) had a partial response to chemotherapy in the neck. In 22 of these 35 patients with clinically positive necks who achieved a major neck response to chemotherapy, radiation therapy (median 66 Gy) was used as the only subsequent treatment of the neck. RESULTS: At a median follow-up of 25 months (range 7-83 months), neck control for this subset is 91% (20/22). Neck failure occurred in 20% (1/5) of patients with a partial response to chemotherapy treated without neck dissection and 6% (1/17) of node positive with a complete response. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that patients with clinically palpable cervical nodal metastases who have a complete response to chemotherapy and receive high dose radiation therapy have excellent neck control and may not need neck dissection. Further experience will be required to confirm these preliminary data and to determine if patients who achieve a partial response in the neck after induction chemotherapy can be treated with radiation therapy without neck dissection.
STUDY DESIGN: Population-based, cross-sectional mailed survey. OBJECTIVE: To identify factors associated with neck pain and its related disability in Saskatchewan adults. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND INFORMATION: Little is known about the etiology of neck pain and its related disability. Previous cross-sectional population-based studies have suggested that neck pain may be associated with age, female gender, lower socioeconomic status, physically demanding work, and other comorbidities. METHODS: The Saskatchewan Health and Back Pain Survey was mailed to 2184 randomly selected Saskatchewan adults 20 to 69 years of age. Fifty-five percent of the study population participated. The survey collected demographic, socioeconomic, and health-related information. Neck pain and its related disability was classified into four categories using the Chronic Pain Questionnaire: no neck pain (Grade 0), low intensity/low disability neck pain (Grade I), high intensity/low disability neck pain (Grade II), and high disability neck pain (Grades III-IV). Polytomous logistic regression was used to identify associations between demographic, socioeconomic, and health-related variables and various grades of neck pain severity. RESULTS: Of the 1131 respondents, 54% had experienced neck pain at some point in the 6 months before the survey, and almost 5% were highly disabled by neck pain. The prevalence of Grade I neck pain was lower in individuals with low education attainment, but higher for those reporting headaches, low back pain, better general health, and a history of neck injury resulting from a motor vehicle collision, some of whom may have received compensation for their injury. Grade II neck pain was strongly associated with headache, low back pain, and a history of neck injury during a motor vehicle collision and weakly associated with digestive disorders and current cigarette smoking. Grades III-IV neck pain was strongly associated with low back pain, headaches, cardiovascular disorders, digestive disorders, and a history of neck injury during a motor vehicle collision. CONCLUSION: This study suggests that important associations exist between comorbidities, a past history of neck injury resulting from a motor vehicle collision, and graded neck pain. Importantly, individuals who are significantly disabled by neck pain also have comorbidities that have a moderate or severe impact on their health, suggesting that chronic disorders tend to cluster in some individuals.
The neck cells (or mucous neck cells) present in the neck region and the zymogenic cells (or chief cells) present in the base region of the units in the mouse corpus were examined in the electron microscope (EM) and in radioautographs prepared after administration of 3H-thymidine by single or multiple injections or by continuous infusion for 1-52 days. For these studies, the neck region of the units has been subdivided into three equal segments, respectively named high neck, mid neck, and low neck, while the base region has been similarly subdivided into high base, mid base, and low base. The neck region includes an average of 12.6 neck cells, characterized in the EM by dark, mucous secretory granules that frequently exhibit a light, pepsinogenic core. Continuous 3H-thymidine infusion reveals that neck cells come from pre-neck cells, which are believed to arise in the isthmus region from the undifferentiated granule-free cells through a pre-neck cell precursor stage. The pre-neck cells, characterized by the presence of a few cored secretory granules, migrate inward (i.e., in the direction of the blind end of the units) and enter the neck region to become neck cells. It is estimated that 59% of the neck cells arise from differentiation of pre-neck cells, whereas the other 41% are derived from their own mitoses. Neck cells migrate inward in 1-2 weeks from the high through the mid and low neck segments, while they keep on producing more and larger secretory granules and thus further differentiate as mucus-producing cells. When neck cells reach the high base segment, they become pre-zymogenic cells that produce secretory granules in which appear light, irregular, pepsinogenic patches which encroach on the dark mucous content. With time, the pre-zymogenic cells, of which there are 5.0 per unit on the average, keep on producing new granules with larger and larger light patches, so that in the end the cells produce granules which are entirely filled by light, pepsinogenic material. At this stage, the cells are zymogenic cells. Zymogenic cells, which average 67.5 per unit, further migrate inward, while gradually enlarging and producing pepsinogenic granules of increasing size. In the low base segment, some zymogenic cells show signs of degeneration leading to death by either necrosis or apoptosis.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
BACKGROUND: Dissection of posterior triangle apex (APEX) is a surgical step in supraomohyoid and lateral neck dissections. The prevalence of lymphatic metastases at this site and the clinicohistopathologic conditions that influence their occurrence have not been established. We have evaluated the prevalence and the risk factors for cervical metastases in lymph nodes of the APEX. METHODS: Sixty-two neck dissections were performed in 51 patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the oropharynx, hypopharynx, oral cavity, glottic larynx, and supraglottic larynx or with primary occult tumor. We correlated the presence of positive metastases in the APEX with the neck level involved either clinically (CLIN) or histopathologically (H/P) and with the number of CLIN- or H/P-positive neck levels with metastases. The prevalence of metastases in the APEX in elective (N0) and therapeutic (N+) neck dissections was also compared. This prevalence was also compared with that for each neck level. The histopathologic comparisons between the APEX and the neck levels were calculated for N0, N+, and all neck dissections. The primary site of tumor was correlated with the presence of H/P-positive nodes in the APEX. RESULTS: The overall prevalence of lymphatic metastases in the APEX was 6.5%. The prevalence in N0 neck dissections was 2.3% and in N+ neck dissections it was 16.7%. The prevalence of lymphatic metastases in the APEX for primary tumors of pharynx was 23.1%, for the oral cavity it was 3.6%, and it was 0% for other sites. Metastases in the APEX were not influenced by the neck level with CLIN or H/P metastases in N+ necks. The number of CLIN- or H/P-positive neck levels had no influence on histopathologic metastases in the APEX. Factors that influenced metastases in the APEX were positive histopathologic metastases at level II for N0 neck dissections and positive histopathologic metastases at level II or III for all neck dissections. All the comparisons were analyzed using Fisher's or Poisson's test. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of histopathologic metastases in the APEX in N+ necks is 7.3 times greater than that of N0 necks and for primary tumors of pharynx it was 6.4 times greater than for the oral cavity and significantly greater than for the larynx. Histopathologic metastases at level II for clinically N0 necks and histopathologic metastases to level II or III for all neck dissections are risk factors for metastases in the APEX. The number of positive levels did not influence the prevalence of metastases in the APEX. There are no isolated metastases in the APEX of the posterior triangle.
The significance of metastatic disease in the lymph nodes of the neck as a critical independent prognostic factor in head and neck cancer has long been appreciated. Although 19th century surgeons attempted to remove involved cervical lymph nodes at the time of resection of the primary cancer, a systematic approach to en bloc removal of cervical lymph node disease, described in detail by Jawdyński in 1888 and popularized and illustrated by Crile in the early 20th century, provided consistent and more effective treatment, and forms the basis of our current techniques. During the first half of the 20th century, developments included preservation of the accessory nerve in selected cases, elective neck dissection performed in association with resection of various primary tumors, bilateral neck dissection and limited neck dissection. The greatest impetus to the status of radical neck dissection came from Martin, whose technique consisted of resection of all lymph nodes from level I-V together with the accessory nerve, internal jugular vein, sternocleidomastoid muscle and various other structures in a single block of resected tissue. Martin's technical precepts were followed until the latter part of the 20th century when modifications in technique began to find general acceptance. The first description of an effective technique of modified radical neck dissection was published in Spanish by Suárez, in 1963. This technique, which preserves important structures, such as the internal jugular vein, sternocleidomastoid muscle and accessory nerve, was refined and popularized by various authors who published their results in the English language literature during the period from 1964 through 1990 and beyond. Modified or "functional" neck dissection avoids much of the morbidity of radical neck dissection while achieving equivalent degrees of control of regional disease in properly selected cases. By the late 20th century, the concept of selective neck dissection, consisting of resection of only the nodal groups at greatest risk for metastasis from a given primary site, was studied and developed. These limited dissections are now widely employed for elective, and in properly selected cases, therapeutic treatment and staging of the neck, and have been proposed for limited cervical recurrences after various chemoradiation protocols. Prospective studies have demonstrated similar rates of neck recurrence and survival after elective selective neck dissection compared to elective modified radical neck dissection. Other modifications and factors applied to treatment of cervical lymph node disease include the use of adjuvant and neo-adjuvant radiation and chemotherapy, a revised system for classification of neck dissections, the identification of various adverse prognostic factors such as extracapsular spread and extranodal soft tissue deposits, application of sentinel lymph node biopsy to staging of the neck, the use of immunohistochemical and molecular techniques for identification of lymph node metastases not detectable by light microscopy, and the possibility of endoscopic neck dissection. The authors conclude that neck dissection, as evolved over the past century, is a fundamental tool in management of patients with head and neck cancer, but is still a work in progress.
OBJECTIVES: In this study, we examine pathology results and clinical outcome for patients with locoregionally advanced squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (SCCHN) who present with advanced neck disease and undergo planned postradiotherapy neck dissection. STUDY DESIGN: Review of all patients with SCCHN treated with primary radiation (or chemoradiation) and postradiotherapy neck dissection at the University of Wisconsin between 1992 to 2005 was performed. One hundred seven neck dissections were identified in 93 patients, 79 unilateral and 14 bilateral. All major treatment and outcome parameters were examined with particular emphasis on the postradiotherapy neck dissection. RESULTS: Thirty of 107 neck dissection specimens (28%) showed evidence of residual carcinoma on pathologic review. The mean number of lymph nodes identified at neck dissection for the entire cohort was 21 per specimen (range, 1-60) with 1.3 nodes per positive neck dissection demonstrating residual carcinoma. No correlation was found between the type of neck dissection performed and the presence of residual nodal disease. Eighty-two evaluated patients (93%) remain free of regional disease recurrence, whereas six patients have subsequently manifested neck recurrence. Four of the six patients who developed regional recurrence showed residual carcinoma in their neck dissection specimen. Five of these patients underwent comprehensive neck dissection (levels I-V); one underwent selective neck dissection (<levels I-V). CONCLUSION: Approximately one-fourth of the patients in this series showed pathologic evidence of residual carcinoma in the neck at the time of postradiotherapy neck dissection. The majority of these cases showed microscopic residual carcinoma in a single lymph node. Although in the early postradiotherapy setting, we cannot accurately predict the viability and growth potential of microscopic residual carcinoma in lymph nodes, these findings, combined with the modest overall morbidity of selective neck dissection, suggest that planned postradiotherapy neck dissection should be strongly considered for patients presenting with advanced neck disease. This remains a prevailing clinical practice at our institution.
OBJECTIVES: This study sought to investigate the patterns and distributions of lymph node metastases in oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) and improve the rationale for elective treatment of N0 neck. MATERIALS AND METHODS: One hundred four patients with oropharyngeal SCC who underwent neck dissection between 1992 and 2003 were analyzed retrospectively. All patients had curative surgery as their initial treatment for the primary tumor and neck. A total of 161 neck dissections on both sides of the neck were performed. Therapeutic dissections were done in 71 and 5 necks and elective neck dissection was done on 33 and 52 necks on the ipsilateral and contralateral sides, respectively. Surgical treatment was followed by postoperative radiotherapy for 78 patients. The follow-up period ranged from 1 to 96 months (mean, 30 months). RESULTS: Of the 161 neck dissection specimens evaluated, 90 (56%) necks were found to have lymph node metastases found by pathologic examination. These consisted of 76 (73% of 104 necks) of the ipsilateral side and 14 (25% of 57 necks) of the contralateral side dissections. The occult metastatic rate was 24% (8 of 33) of ipsilateral neck samples and 21% (11 of 52) of contralateral neck samples. Of the 68 patients who had a therapeutic dissection on the ipsilateral side and had lymphatic metastasis, the incidence rate of level IV and level I metastasis was 37% (25 of 68) and 10% (7 of 68), respectively. Isolated metastasis to level IV occurred on the ipsilateral side in three patients. There were no cases of isolated ipsilateral level I pathologic involvement in an N-positive neck or occult metastasis to this group. The incidence rate of level IV metastasis in patients with ipsilateral nodal metastasis was significantly higher in base of tongue cancer (86% [6 of 7]) compared with tonsillar cancer (34% [20 of 59]) (P=.013). Patients with level IV metastasis had significantly worse 5-year disease-free survival rates than patients with metastasis to other neck levels (54% versus 71%; P=.04). CONCLUSION: These results suggest that elective N0 neck treatment in patients with oropharyngeal SCC, especially base of tongue cancer, should include neck levels II, III, and IV instead of levels I, II, and III.
Laryngeal cancer is one of the most curable malignancies. One of the reasons is that most of them are in the early stage. However, the prognosis of advanced bilateral neck metastases is still poor. Based on loco-regional failure and cause of death, the effective procedure of neck dissection and the efficacy of postoperative irradiation were investigated retrospectively. A total of 1022 patients with laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma were registered in our hospital between 1979 and 1991, 58 of them (5.7%) had bilateral neck metastases. Clinical N2c cases accounted for 52% (32/58). In the other patients, the metastatic nodes were revealed by elective neck dissection for a clinically negative neck. The T stages of the 58 cases were as follows; T2 in 14 cases, T3 in 22 and T4 in 22. Forty-nine of the patients treated curatively by bilateral neck dissection were analyzed, 48 with total laryngectomy and 1 with partial laryngectomy. The remaining 9 patients were excluded because of radical irradiation in 3, distant metastases found the diagnosis in 3, unresectable recurrent neck metastases treated in other hospitals in 2 and no treatment because of severe myocardial infarction in 1. Cumulative crude and cause-specific 5-year survival rates for the 49 patients were 32.2% and 52.2%, respectively. Nineteen patients died of their disease; 10 of them of an uncontrolled neck lesion. From a comparison of the surgery alone group (28 cases) with a surgery plus irradiation group (21 cases) which consisted of preoperative irradiation in 2 and postoperative in 19, addition of irradiation may be effective for loco-regional control. Eight patients died of an uncontrolled neck lesion in the surgery alone group, while there were only 2 deaths in the postoperative irradiation group. Nevertheless there were no significant differences in survival: the cumulative crude and cause-specific 5-year survival rates in the surgery alone group were 34.4% and 56.2%, respectively, while those in the surgery plus irradiation group were 28.6% and 46.3%, respectively. It is obvious that the procedure of neck dissection influenced the loco-regional control. Excluding the recurrence-free patients who died of intercurrent diseases within 2 years, recurrence in the ipsilateral neck was found in 1 of 12 patients with radical neck dissection (RND), in 1 of 3 with modified radical neck dissection (MRND), in 2 of 15 with lateral neck dissection (lateral ND) and in 9 of 11 with regional neck dissection (regional ND). Recurrence is the contralateral neck were found in none of 2 with RND, of 3 with MRND and of 20 with lateral ND, but in 6 of 16 with regional ND. These results suggest that regional ND was insufficient to accomplish loco-regional control in those patients and that lateral ND or MRND or RND may be required bilaterally. Since 1986, all patients except 1 were treated by more extensive maneuvers than lateral ND bilaterally, so that loco-regional recurrence was found in only 1 case, in spite of the fact that the surgery alone group accounted for 73% (19/26). Cumulative crude and cause-specific 5-year survival rates for the patients prior to 1985 (23 cases) were 26.1% and 32.6%, respectively, while those for the patients since 1986 (26 cases) were 38.5% and 76.9%, respectively. There was no significant difference (p = 0.73) in cumulative crude 5-year survival rates between the 2 groups, but the difference in their cause-specific 5-year survival rates was statistically highly significant (p = 0.0032). It was concluded that lateral ND, MRND or RND should be required bilaterally for the patients with bilateral neck metastases and that addition of irradiation is not always indispensable for patients treated by curative neck dissection, such as lateral ND, MRND or RND.