Objective: To audit our management policy of treatment of clinically N0 (cN0) early-stage squamous cell carcinoma of the oral tongue (SCCOT).
Design: Retrospective review of patients treated between 1986 and 1996.
Setting: Tertiary cancer center.
Patients: A total of 215 patients with previously untreated T1 (n=110) or T2 (n=105) cN0 SCCOT were identified. The median age was 59 years (age range, 14-88 years). Elective neck dissection (END) was performed in 51%, while the neck was observed in 49%. The END and surveillance groups differed significantly for the following features: clinical stage T2 (72% vs 28%), depth of invasion greater than 2 mm (68% vs 32%), poorly differentiated grade (75% vs 25%), and postoperative radiation therapy (33% vs 1%).