Lymph node metastases in the neck and parotid gland from an unknown primary melanoma.
A lymph node metastasis in the neck or parotid region from an unknown primary melanoma is an uncommon occurrence. Out of a total of 300 patients with head and neck melanoma treated at the Netherlands Cancer Institute between 1976 and 1992, 17 (5.7%) presented in this way. The most common site for metastatic lymph nodes (18 nodes in 17 patients) was level V (n = 7), followed by the parotid region (n = 4), level II (n = 4), level III (n = 2), and level IV (n = 7). Two patients had local excision of the neck node metastasis only, while the remaining 15 patients underwent more extensive surgical treatment. The 5-year disease-specific survival rate in this group was 48%, with a median survival of 36 months, which is more or less similar to the prognosis of stage II melanoma of the head and neck with a known, surgically treated primary tumour. No relation was found between disease-free interval and sex, the number of positive lymph nodes or the duration of symptoms.
Department of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery, The Netherlands Cancer Institute, Amsterdam.
A J
AJ
Balm
B B
BB
Kroon
F J
FJ
Hilgers
A
A
Jonk
W J
WJ
Mooi
D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis; D008297:Male; D008545:Melanoma / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000556:secondary* / Q000601:surgery; D009333:Neck; D037981:Neck Dissection; D009382:Neoplasms, Unknown Primary / Q000453:epidemiology*; D010306:Parotid Gland / Q000601:surgery; D010307:Parotid Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000556:secondary* / Q000601:surgery; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D015996:Survival Rate