Evaluation of cervical lymph node metastasis in tonsil cancer at Cho Ray Hospital (2019-2024)

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate the rate of cervical lymph node metastasis in tonsil cancer at Cho Ray Hospital from 2019 to 2024. Subjects and methods: Patients who were diagnosed with tonsil cancer through pathological examination and treated at the Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Cho Ray Hospital, from June 2019 to June 2024 were included in the study. Results and discussion: The majority of patients were aged between 40 and 60 years (70.8%). The maleto-female ratio was 3.8/1. The most common functional symptom was pain at the tumour site (66.7%), followed by dysphagia and cervical lymphadenopathy, which accounted for 50.0 and 33.3%, respectively. Tumours were located on the right side in 54.2% of cases and on the left side in the remaining patients. The disease was associated with risk factors including alcohol consumption, smoking, and betel chewing. Pathological results indicated that squamous cell carcinoma of the tonsil was typically localised to one side. Regarding lymph node metastasis, our study showed that 70.8% of patients presented with cervical lymph node metastasis, whereas 29.2% had no metastatic lymph nodes. Conclusion: Tumours were predominantly staged as T1 and T2 (87.5%). The rate of lymph node metastasis was 40% in T1, 75% in T2, and 100% in T3, suggesting a greater incidence of metastasis in advanced stages.