Nodal failures in patients with N0 N+ oral squamous cell carcinoma without capsular rupture

Abstract

The low NR rate in NO N+ CR- patients means that postoperative irradiation can be confined to N+ CR+ patients and, as a precautionary measure, to patients with more than 3 N+ CR-. Keeping irradiation in reserve allows the treatment of metachronous cancers, which are particularly frequent in these patients, in whom the 5-year survival rate is 54% in N+ CR- and 69% in N-.