Occult Nodal Metastasis in Head and Neck Carcinoma Patients Treated With Chemoradiotherapy Publisher Pubmed



Karimi E¹ ; Rouhi T² ; Saeedi N¹ ; Golparvaran S¹ ; Yazdani N¹ ; Sohrabpour S¹ ; Aghazadeh K¹ ; Heidari F¹ Show Affiliations
Source: American Journal of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Medicine and Surgery Published:2022

Abstract

Background and aim: Neck lymph node metastasis plays an important role in the prognosis of patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck. The aim of this study was to evaluate the occult nodal metastasis in patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) treated with chemo radiotherapy. Methods: In this 5-year prospective study, patients with recurrent head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HN-SCC) after primary treatment with chemoradiotherapy or radiotherapy that candidate for surgery were enrolled. In total, 50 patients with squamous cell carcinomas of the head and neck with N0 neck were included in the study. Age, initial location of recurrent tumor, T staging in primary and recurrent tumors, neck condition (N0 or N+), and pathology report for neck metastasis, number of affected lymph nodes and duration of tumor recurrence were examined. Results: Out of 50 patients with mean age of 57.04 ± 14.4 years, 13 were female (26%) and 37 (74%) were male. In terms of primary tumor size, 52% (26 patients) were in T2 stage. The primary and recurrent tumor was located in the oral cavity in 33 patients (66%). Nine 0f 50 patients (18%) had occult metastases. Conclusion: It seems that END surgery is necessary for treatment the occult lymph node neck metastasis of recurrent head and neck cancers with N0 neck. Therefore, it is possible that END surgery has reduced cervical recurrence in these patients. © 2021 Elsevier Inc.