Skin Involvement and Ipsilateral Nodal Metastasis as a Predictor of Contra-lateral Nodal Metastasis in Buccal Mucosa Cancer

CONTEXT: In view of the low incidence of contralateral nodal metastasis and increase in morbidity, the opposite neck is not routinely addressed. However, contralateral nodal metastasis is seen frequently in a certain group of patients. Identifying those factors associated with higher chances of contralateral nodal metastasis may help in optimizing the treatment. AIM: The aim of this study was to identify prognostic factors associated with contralateral nodal metastasis in cases of buccal mucosa cancers.

SETTINGS AND DESIGN: A retrospective audit of 125 patients with squamous cell carcinoma of buccal mucosa at a tertiary cancer center. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Those cases in which lesions were reaching or crossing midline were included in this study. All cases underwent surgery as primary modality of treatment and had bilateral neck dissection. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS USED: Chi-square test is…