Purpose: Controversies exist in regard to surgical neck management in total laryngectomies (TL). International guidelines do not sufficiently discriminate neck sides and sublevels, or minimal neck-dissection nodal yield (NY).
Methods: Thirty-seven consecutive primary TL cases from 2009 to 2019 were retrospectively analyzed in terms of local tumor growth using a previously established imaging scheme, metastatic neck involvement, and NY impact on survival.
Results: There was no case of level IIB involvement on any side. For type A and B tumor midline involvement, no positive contralateral lymph nodes were found. Craniocaudal tumor extension correlated with contralateral neck involvement (OR: 1.098, p = 0.0493) and showed increased involvement when extending 33 mm (p = 0.0134). Using a bilateral NY of ≥ 24 for 5-year overall survival (OS) and ≥ 26 for 5-year disease-free survival (DFS) gave significantly increased rate advantages of 64 and 56%, respectively (both p < 0.0001).
Conclusions: This work sheds light on regional metastatic distribution pattern and its influence on TL cases. An NY of n ≥ 26 can be considered a desirable benchmark for bilateral selective neck dissections as it leads to improved OS and DFS. Therefore, an omission of distinct neck levels cannot be promoted at this time.
Keywords: Advanced laryngeal cancer; HNSCC; Level IIB; Neck dissection; Nodal yield; Total laryngectomy.