TABLE 1:

Patient demographic information

Patient No.	Age (y)/Sex	Diagnosis	Preoperative Staging*	Nodal Status on Conventional Images (CT Scan or MR Image)	Postoperative Staging
1	44/F	SCC tongue	T3N1	CT: negative (N1 based on palpation)	T3N2c
2	59/M	SCC floor of mouth	T2N0	MR: negative	T2N0
3	56/M	SCC buccal mucosa	T2N0	MR: negative	T1N0
4	64/F	SCC oropharynx	T3N0	CT:negative	T2N0
5	53/M	SCC oropharynx	T3N2a	MR: multiple abnormal nodes	T3N2a
6	57/M	SCC oropharynx	T4N2c	MR: multiple abnormal nodes	T4N2c
7	52/M	SCC tongue	TxN2b†	MR: multiple abnormal nodes	TxN2b
8	72/M	SCC retromolar trigone	T2N2b	MR: multiple abnormal nodes	T1N2b
9	72/F	SCC nasal cavity	TxN1†	CT: single necrotic node	TxN1
10	63/M	SCC tongue	T3N0	MR: negative	T2N0
11	71/M	SCC tongue	T3N0	MR: negative (but N1 based on PET)	T3N1‡
12	79/F	SCC alveolar ridge	T3N2b	MR: multiple abnormal nodes	T4N2b
13	74/M	SCC retromolar trigone	T2N0	MR: negative	T2N1‡
14	65/F	SCC alveolar ridge	T4N0	MR: negative	T4N0
15	47/M	SCC tongue	TxN2b†	CT: multiple abnormal nodes	TxN2b
16	83/F	SCC tongue	T1N0	MR: negative	T1N0
17	52/M	SCC tongue	T1N0	MR: negative	T1N0
18	44/F	SCC tongue	T1N0	MR: negative	T1N0
19	66/M	SCC alveolar ridge	T4N0	MR: negative	T4N0
20	85/F	SCC buccal mucosa	T4N0	CT: negative	T4N1‡
21	62/M	SCC floor of mouth	TxN2b†	CT: multiple abnormal nodes	TxN2b

Note.—F indicates female; M, male; SCC, squamous cell carcinoma; PET, positron emission tomography.

^*All patients were staged as M0. Preoperative staging was based on clinical palpation and conventional anatomic imaging with CT and/or MR imaging, not high resolution MR imaging.

^†Primary site previously excised (hence, the “Tx” designation), but no radiation or other therapy to the neck previously received. Patient evaluated and treated for neck disease.

^‡Three patients preoperatively staged as N0 were upstaged to N1 based on pathologic findings.