Surgical site infection after preoperative neoadjuvant chemotherapy in patients with locally advanced oral squamous cell carcinoma

Background We investigated whether preoperative neoadjuvant chemotherapy is associated with increased surgical site infection (SSI) rate in patients with locally advanced oral cancer. Methods In this hospital‐based study, we retrospectively reviewed over 2000 chart records of patients with oral cavity cancer from March 1994 to December 2007. Those who received neoadjuvant chemotherapy were identified and matched for age, sex, tumor classification, primary site, and reconstruction methods to hospitalized patients who did not receive chemotherapy. Data were analyzed for the relationship between chemotherapy and SSI. Results A total of 306 patients were enrolled for final analyses. The overall postoperative SSI rate was 31.0%. The SSI rate in patients after neoadjuvant chemotherapy was similar to that in patients who did not receive the chemotherapy (33.3% vs 29.9%, p = .631). Conclusions Preoperative neoadjuvant chemotherapy was not associated with increased SSI rate in patients with locally advanced oral cancer. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Head Neck, 2011