Lymph node yield and lymph node density for elective level II–IV neck dissections in laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma patients

Purpose To determine the minimum lymph node yield (LNY) in patients with laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma (LSCCs). Methods This retrospective study was performed in a tertiary care hospital setting and included 42 LSCC patients aged 39–81 years (females, n = 2; males, n = 40) who underwent a total or partial laryngectomy and elective bilateral level II–IV neck dissections (unilateral neck dissections: n = 84). Results The average LNY in the unilateral level II–IV lymph node dissections was 25.9 ± 10, and the average metastatic LNY was 0.9 ± 1.9. The unilateral neck dissections were grouped according to the number of lymph nodes. There was no significant difference between the groups in terms of the metastatic LNY ( p = 0.5). The metastatic lymph node density (LND) (metastatic lymph node yield/LNY) was 0.043 for unilateral neck level II–IV neck dissections. A Cox regression analysis revealed no significant relationship between survival and the LNY and LND in bilateral neck dissections ( p = 0.4 and p = 0.8, respectively). Conclusions The results revealed no minimum number of lymph nodes that could reliably detect metastatic lymph nodes in LSCC patients.