JOURNAL OF JAPAN SOCIETY FOR HEAD AND NECK SURGERY
Online ISSN : 1884-474X
Print ISSN : 1349-581X
ISSN-L : 1349-581X
Clinical analysis of patients suspected of cervical lymph node metastases from an unknown primary site
Tomoya HirataHajime IshinagaSatoshi NakamuraKazuki ChiyonobuKazuhiko Takeuchi
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2021 Volume 31 Issue 1 Pages 25-31

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Abstract

We retrospectively analyzed 27 patients suspected of cervical lymph node metastases from an unknown primary site between 2007 and 2017. We classified the patients into three groups. In group A (five cases), the primary site was found before initial treatment; in group B (eight cases), the primary site was found after initial treatment; and in group C (14 cases), the primary site was unknown. The three- and five-year overall survival rates in all cases were 81.8% and 71.4% in the group with unknown primary site (C). There were no deaths in the group with known primary site (B). The three-year overall survival rate by N classification was 100% in N1 cases, 84.6% in N2 cases and no survival in N3 cases. Careful physical examination and laryngoscopy were important for finding the primary site, and PET-CT and tonsillectomy helped make the diagnosis. In addition, our study suggests that whether the primary site is known, whether the case is resectable, and whether the case is N3 are prognostic factors.

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© 2021 JAPAN SOCIETY FOR HEAD AND NECK SURGERY
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