Premium
Axillary nodal metastases in head and neck cancer
Author(s) -
Koch Wayne M.
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
head and neck
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.012
H-Index - 127
eISSN - 1097-0347
pISSN - 1043-3074
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1097-0347(199905)21:3<269::aid-hed13>3.0.co;2-q
Subject(s) - medicine , axilla , breast cancer , otorhinolaryngology , lymphatic system , metastasis , surgery , head and neck cancer , head and neck , primary tumor , cancer , radiation therapy , radiology , pathology
Background Axillary node metastasis is an uncommon occurrence in squamous carcinoma of the upper aerodigestive tract. Methods The tumor registry of The Johns Hopkins University Department of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery contained four cases of metastasis to the axilla from head and neck primary sites. A retrospective review of these cases was performed. Results Each patient had been initially treated for cancer years earlier including surgery and radiation to the neck. A recurrent cancer or a new primary then developed in the upper aerodigestive tract prior to the development of the axillary metastases. Conclusions The common course of disease in these patients suggests that alteration of the lymphatic anatomy by previous treatment may have caused a new pattern of metastatic spread upon reseeding from the mucosa, resulting in the axillary metastases. Routine surveillance of the axillae by physical examination and/or computerized imaging in at risk patients may permit the early diagnosis of axillary metastases. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Head Neck 21:269–272, 1999.