Abstract:

Objective　The purpose of this study was to investigate the risk factors involving lymph node metastasis of squamous cell carcinoma and evaluate if the risk factors would be effective in predicting neck lymph node metastasis.Methods　 Based on the original data of 106 caseswith carcinoma of tongue, four related factors, including maximal diameter, degree of dif- ferentiation, mode of invasion and histological grade ofmalignancywere analyzed statistically.Results　The maximal diameter and the grade of tumor cell differentiation showed no significant correlation with cervical lymph node metastasis; but the mode of inva- sion and the histological grade of malignancy demonstrated a significant correlation.Conclusion　The results obtained suggested that the mode of invasion and the histological grade of malignancy were closely related to cervical lymph node metastasis.

Key words: tongue, squamous cell carcinoma, lymph node metastasis