Year: 2012
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: The goal of this research was to determine the existence of the significant time differences in the identification of the recurrences and neck metastases in the patients surgically treated for the oral cavity cancer by comparing three postoperative follow up methods. The study included 286 patients surgically treated for oral and pharyngeal cancer in period from 1991 to 2007 at three different institutions, divided into three groups based on the different postoperative follow up protocol. In this study we were able to show that the period of identification of recurrences and neck metastases was significantly shorter in the group of patients whose follow up included neck ultrasound, along with methods of inspection and palpation of the oral cavity and the neck. In conclusion, implementation of more contemporary methods such as the neck ultrasound is needed along with usual follow up methods, such as inspection and palpation of the oral cavity and the neck. Also, follow up of the patients surgically treated for the oral cavity cancer should be conducted systematically. Ultrasound examination of the neck should be recommended due to its low cost, harmlessness, possible frequent usage, high quality visual imaging and possibility of combination with the fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) of the suspicious lymph nodes.
Source: PubMed
Institution: University of Rijeka
Language: English
Topic: Head and Neck Cancer Studies
Subfield: Otorhinolaryngology
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W64329488