title: Metastatic carcinoma in the neck from an occult primary lesion.
abstract: Over an 11-year period, from January 1980 to December 1990, 23 patients with metastatic carcinoma of the neck were admitted to Addington Hospital with an unknown primary lesion. More than 50% of patients presented with disease in the N3 nodal stage. Sixteen patients had squamous cell carcinoma, 6 undifferentiated carcinoma and 1 adenocarcinoma. The diagnoses were made by means of fine-needle aspiration cytology and histological assessment of the neck nodes. Twenty-one patients were treated with radiotherapy and 2 with surgery. The primary tumour became apparent in only 4 (17%) patients, 7, 8, 9, and 12 months respectively after initial presentation. The sites were the base of tongue in 2, the pyriform fossa in 1 and the scalp in the remaining patient. The overall 3-year and 5-year survival rates were 26% and 17% respectively.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otorhinolaryngology, University of Natal, Durban.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Charlton
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Singh
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Landers
mesh_terms: D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000473:pathology / Q000532:radiotherapy / Q000556:secondary / Q000601:surgery; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001706:Biopsy; D001707:Biopsy, Needle; D002277:Carcinoma / Q000473:pathology / Q000532:radiotherapy / Q000556:secondary / Q000601:surgery; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000473:pathology / Q000532:radiotherapy / Q000556:secondary / Q000601:surgery; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D005260:Female; D006258:Head and Neck Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology / Q000532:radiotherapy / Q000556:secondary* / Q000601:surgery; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009382:Neoplasms, Unknown Primary / Q000473:pathology* / Q000532:radiotherapy / Q000601:surgery