Open AccessNeck mestastasis from unknown origin-results of planned primary surgery and post-operative radiation therapy
Author(s) -
Ashok M. Shenoy,
Honey Ashok,
Anamika Prasad,
K. Nanjundappa,
Sandhya Ravi,
Sanjeev Kumar,
Balaswamy Reddy,
P. S. Prabhakaran
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
indian journal of otolaryngology and head and neck surgery
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.229
H-Index - 22
eISSN - 2231-3796
pISSN - 0973-7707
DOI - 10.1007/bf03028557
Subject(s) - medicine , neck dissection , radiation therapy , otorhinolaryngology , surgery , dissection (medical) , primary tumor , general surgery , metastasis , cancer
Ninety-two patients with metastasis of unknown origin were studied between 1986 and 1997 at Kidwai Memorial Institute of Oncology, India. Treatment included planned primary radical neck dissection followed by radiotherapy. Sixty-seven patients completed our multimodal therapy. Thirty-eight of these patients had a median follow-up pf 35.7 months. Nine patients had a median follow-up of 8.3 months. Twenty patients were lost in follow-up after completing the above protocol. Twenty-five patients did not comply with prescribed therapy. Of the followed up patients 78.9% were disease free. The failure rate was 21%, which comprised of regional failure in 16% and liver metastasis in 5%. Primary manifested at base of tongue in 2 patients. In a third world cancer center like ours, advanced neck disease and unreliable follow-up mandate multimodal therapy to be instituted at the first instance. Manifest primaries should be treated on individual basis.