Objective To investigate the regularity of cervical lymph-node metastasis in oral squamous cell carcinoma pa- tients and determine the treatment principle to cN0patients.Methods 1 024 oral squamous cell carcinoma cases who underwent neck dissection between 1980~2001 were investigated retrospectively.Results The total rate of cervical lymph-node metastasis of oral squamous cell carcinoma was 36·62%(375/1 024), the metastasis rate of cancer in tongue, buccal, gingival, and floor of mouth was 42·82%, 31·93%, 32·76%, and 25.00%, respectively; the rate of occult metastasis was 20·94%(71/339), the incidence of occult metastasis was closely related to the location of primary lesion and T stage.Conclusion The results in this study revealed that the therapy regime of the oral squamous cell carcinoma should be based on carefully clinical examination and compositive analysis on primary lesion related to size, location and cervical lymph-node.
