Cervical lymph node metastases of oral carcinoma related to the depth of invasion of the primary lesion.

Squamous cell carcinoma of the tongue has been found to have a greater frequency of cervical metastases on initial examination than lesions affecting other oral sites. This study analyzes a sample of 21 pathological specimens of oral carcinoma and block neck dissections relating the confirmed histological presence of cervical metastasis to the depth of invasion of the primary lesion. Tongue carcinomas were compared with lesions affecting other oral sites. An arbitrary anatomical levelling system was devised to assess the depth of invasion. Tongue carcinomas show a propensity to infiltrate more deeply than lesions affecting other oral sites. For the entire sample, carcinomas infiltrating the superficial lamina propria occurred much less frequently than lesions showing a deeper infiltration pattern. Overall, lesions infiltrating the deep lamina propria do not exhibit a reduced frequency of occurrence compared to lesions infiltrating the skeletal muscle; however, carcinomas affecting other oral sites showed a reduced frequency of deeply infiltrating lesions in comparison to more superficial lesions. Carcinomas confined to the superficial lamina propria seem to have a better prognosis in relation to developing cervical metastases, and this does not appear to be influenced by age, sex, site, size, or degree of differentiation.