Metastatic Carcinoma of the Neck of Unknown Primary Origin: Evolution and Efficacy of the Modern Workup

Abstract

Cervical metastasis of squamous cell carcinoma from an unknown primary site occurs in approximately 2% to 4% of head and neck tumors. When a primary tumor is not identified, most centers advocate treatment including wide-field radiotherapy, which results in significant morbidity. Therefore, a good deal of effort is spent in attempting to identify occult primary tumor sites in this patient group. Since early descriptions of this problem in the literature, the workup and management of these cases has remained controversial.1-3