Purpose: To determine the neurologic morbidity and oncologic effectiveness of carotid resection in patients with advanced squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck.
Methods: A retrospective review of all published cases of squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck treated by carotid resection was performed.
Results: A major neurologic complication occurred in 17% of patients. Neurologic morbidity was not associated with the method of carotid artery reconstruction. Two-year disease-free survival was 22%. The majority of recurrences were local or regional. Comparison of survival of this group to a similarly staged control group demonstrated no significant difference in survival.
Conclusion: This review of the literature suggests that elective carotid resection achieves significant local/regional control of disease and that carotid artery involvement is not a poor prognostic factor in patients with advanced head and neck cancer.