Table 2 Treatment characteristics
|  | All patients (n = 59) | Early treatment group (n = 30) | Delayed treatment group (n = 29) | Statistical comparison |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Time span | ||||
 Neck Dissection – Adjuvant Therapy (mean d ± SD) | 57.45 ± 21.75 | 41.69 ± 9.03 | 73.21 ± 19.16 | t(56) = 8.01, p < 0.001 |
Surgical treatment modality (n, %) | ||||
 Selective Neck Dissection | 33 (55.9%) | 19 (63.3%) | 14 (48.3%) |  |
 Modified Radical Neck Dissection | 10 (17.0%) | 5 (16.7%) | 5 (17.2%) | X2(2) = 1.74, p = 0.419 |
 Radical Neck Dissection | 16 (27.12%) | 6 (20.0%) | 10 (34.5%) |  |
Adjuvant treatment modality (n, %) | ||||
 Radiation therapy | 4 (6.8%) | 2 (6.7%) | 2 (6.9%) | Fisher’s Z: p > 0.999 |
 Chemoradiation therapy | 55 (93.2%) | 28 (93.3%) | 27 (93.1%) |  |
Radiation dose in Gy (mean ± SD) | 69.84 ± 8.19 | 70.41 ± 8.88 | 69.25 ± 7.54 | Z = 0.49, p = 0.621 |
Chemotherapy (n, %) | ||||
 Cisplatin/ Carboplatin+ 5-FU | 31 (56.4%) | 17 (60.7%) | 14 (51.8%) | X2(1) = 0.44, p = 0.508 |
 Other | 24 (43.6%) | 11 (39.3%) | 13 (48.2%) |  |
Number of removed lymph nodes | 21.95 ± 10.70 | 21.30 ± 10.96 | 22.62 ± 10.61 | t(57) = 0.47, p = 0.639 |
Lymph Node Ratio (LNR; mean ± SD) | 0.25 ± 0.43 | 0.31 ± 0.57 | 0.18 ± 0.21 | Z = 1.11, p = 0.268 |