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Updated: Aug 13, 2026
In Vitro Modeling of Cancerous Neural Invasion: The Dorsal Root Ganglion Model
Published on: April 12, 2016
Skin cancer of the head and neck with incidental microscopic perineural invasion
M W McCord1, W M Mendenhall, J T Parsons
1Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Florida College of Medicine, Gainesville, USA.
Purpose:
To address outcomes in clinically asymptomatic patients in whom the unexpected finding of microscopic perineural invasion is noted at the time of surgery.
Methods And Materials:
The 35 patients included in this study had skin cancers of the head and neck treated with curative intent between January 1965 and April 1995 at the University of Florida. All patients were without clinical or radiographic evidence of perineural invasion but, at the time of biopsy or surgical excision, had the incidental finding of microscopic perineural invasion. Definitive therapy consisted of radiotherapy alone after lesion biopsy (3 patients) or surgical excision preceded (2 patients) or followed (30 patients) by radiotherapy. All patients had follow-up for at least 1 year, 13 patients (37%) had follow-up for at least 5 years.
Results:
The 5-year local control rate was 78%. The 5-year local control rate for the few patients treated with radiotherapy alone was statistically similar to that for patients treated with surgery and radiotherapy (100% vs. 77%, p = 0.4). Multivariate analysis for factors affecting local control included sex, histology, age, treatment group, clinical T stage, initial histologic differentiation, and previously untreated vs. recurrent tumors, none of which was found to be significant.
Conclusions:
Both surgery plus radiotherapy and radiotherapy alone provide a relatively high rate of local control for patients with incidentally discovered perineural invasion secondary to skin cancer.
