Lung metastases were detected in 49 patients out of 382 with head and neck malignant tumors so for treated at the authors' clinic from 1971 to 1984. In 25 cases out of these, a locoregional lesion was controlled at the time when the lung metastasis was detected. The treatment and the prognosis of these 25 eases were reviewed.
1) The incidence of lung metastasis was 10.3% in patients with squamous cell carcinoma, 50.0% with adenoid cystic carcinoma, 18.2% with other adenogenetic carcinoma and 54.5% with sarcoma.
2) The 25 cases consisted of 17 patients with squamous cell carcinoma, 3 with adenoid cystic carcinoma, 3 with other adenogenetic carcinoma, and 2 with sarcoma.
3) Prognosis of the lung-metastasized squamous cell carcinoma was poor and 11 patients out of the 17 died within 1-year after the metastasis was confirmed.
4) Progression of the lung-metastasized adenoid cystic carcinoma was found to be gradual, and all the 3 patients with adenoid cystic carcinoma survived for more than 3 years.
5) A relatively longer survival period was noted in 3 patients out of 5 who had received a surgical resection of the pulmonary metastatic tumor.
6) There was no difference in the 3-year and the 5-year survival rate between the treated and the non-treated group.