Stratified Lymph Node Yield Thresholds After Neoadjuvant Immunochemotherapy: A Surgical Benchmark for Survival in Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma

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The study defines lymph node dissection adequacy thresholds for oral squamous cell carcinoma after neoadjuvant immunotherapy and chemotherapy.
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Optimal thresholds are established as 20 total lymph nodes for unilateral dissections and 18 nodes per side for bilateral dissections.
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Inadequate lymph node dissection is associated with worse overall survival and disease-free survival in both unilateral and bilateral groups.
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Higher risk of major complications is linked to inadequate lymph node dissection in the unilateral group.
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The findings were validated in an independent cohort, demonstrating good discrimination and calibration for the lymph node dissection model.

Frontiers In Immunology

by Yuan, Shuai , Hu, Yunshuang , Hou, Yalin , Wei, Yunzhe , Fang, Qigen , Liu, Fei
May 14, 2026

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