ABSTRACT
To identify whether there is a difference in critical thickness of tongue and floor of mouth squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) where the risk of nodal metastasis is high. Nodal metastasis in oral SCC has significant prognostic value, and several primary tumour factors such as tumour size, thickness, and perineural invasion have been suggested in relation to development of neck node metastasis. However, most studies in relation to tumour thickness have predominantly focused on the tongue SCC subsite. A consecutive series of 1,081 previously untreated patients undergoing 1,119 radical neck dissections for squamous carcinoma of the head and neck was reviewed by Shah et al. to study the patterns of nodal metastases. Predominance of certain levels was seen for each primary site. Finally is a recent published study by Hutchison et al., who conducted a nationwide randomised trial evaluating selective elective neck dissection for early-stage oral cancer.
