Surgery is the preferred treatment for early and advanced buccal carcinoma in North America. Patients with advanced disease should receive postoperative radiation or chemoradiation. Surgical approach depends on the size of the tumor. Small lesions can usually be treated via transoral wide local excision, whereas advanced lesions usually require excision via a cheek flap. Composite resection is indicated for mandibular invasion, while partial maxillectomy is used for superior alveolar ridge invasion. Complete resection of the tumor with negative margins confirmed by frozen section histopathology is the goal. Positive margins are associated with increased recurrence and decreased survival rates.
Metastatic neck disease (N+ disease) requires either a modified radical neck dissection or radical neck dissection depending on the extent of disease. Management of the clinically negative neck is controversial. Diaz et al found a 26% rate of occult nodal metastases and noted that the regional recurrence rate decreased from 25% to 10% in those receiving neck prophylaxis.[2] Mishra et al found that the recurrence rate in those having such prophylaxis was 29% versus 48% for those who did not. Most authors recommend neck treatment for tumors of T2 or worse.
The goal of reconstruction is to prevent contracture in the buccal region that could interfere with function of the oral cavity. The type of reconstruction depends on the size of the surgical defect and the tissue that needs to be replaced. The tissue defect may involve the mucosa, skin, bone, or any combination of these. Reconstructive options include primary closure; healing by secondary intention; split-thickness skin graft; local flaps; regional flaps (eg, pectoralis major); or free tissue transfer (eg, radial forearm flap, anterolateral thigh flap, fibular osteocutaneous flap).