Abstract
The medical records of 52 previously untreated patients with N1 squamous cell carcinoma of the tongue between 1983 and 2002 were reviewed. All patients underwent neck dissection as part of the initial treatment. Clinical cervical metastases of level I to III were found in all cases. The pathological sites of cervical metastasis and cervical recurrence were found to be almost level I to III. The T stage and the clinical sites of cervical metastasis were not correlated with the pathological sites of cervical metastasis. The appropriate area of neck dissection for patients with N1 tongue cancer is thought to be level I to IV.
