title: Pretreatment neck node biopsy, distant metastases, and survival in nasopharyngeal carcinoma.
abstract: Pretreatment neck node biopsy had been performed on 50 of 422 patients who had cervical node metastases from nasopharyngeal carcinoma when initially seen. Multivariate analysis using the Cox proportional hazards model shows that pretreatment node biopsy is not a significant determinant of distant metastases, survival, or recurrence in the neck. Results of similar studies are reviewed and the role of pretreatment node biopsy in nasopharyngeal carcinoma discussed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Oncology, Prince of Wales Hospital, Shatin, Hong Kong.
authors.forename: S F
authors.initials: SF
authors.lastname: Leung
authors.forename: P M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Teo
authors.forename: W W
authors.initials: WW
authors.lastname: Foo
authors.forename: C A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Van Hasselt
authors.forename: W C
authors.initials: WC
authors.lastname: Shiu
authors.forename: C L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Ting
authors.forename: J T
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: Lau
mesh_terms: D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001706:Biopsy; D002277:Carcinoma / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000473:pathology* / Q000556:secondary*; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008198:Lymph Nodes / Q000473:pathology*; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis / Q000473:pathology*; D008297:Male; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D009303:Nasopharyngeal Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000473:pathology*; D009333:Neck; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local / Q000473:pathology; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012737:Sex Factors; D015996:Survival Rate