Metastatic squamous neck cancer with occult primary is a disease in which squamous cell cancer spreads to lymph nodes in the neck and it is not known where the cancer first formed in the body.
Squamous cells are thin, flaT-cells found in tissues that form the surface of the skin and the lining of body cavities such as the mouth, hollow organs such as the uterus and blood vessels, and the lining of the respiratory (breathing) and digestive tracts. Some organs with squamous cells are the esophagus, lungs, kidneys, and uterus. Cancer can begin in squamous cells anywhere in the body and metastasize (spread) through the blood or lymph system to other parts of the body.
When squamous cell cancer spreads to lymph nodes in the neck or around the collarbone, it is called metastatic squamous neck cancer. The doctor will try to find the primary tumor (the cancer that first formed in the body), because treatment for metastatic cancer is the same as treatment for the primary tumor. For example, when lung cancer spreads to the neck, the cancer cells in the neck are lung cancer cells and they are treated the same as the cancer in the lung. Sometimes doctors cannot find where in the body the cancer first began to grow. When tests cannot find a primary tumor, it is called an occult (hidden) primary tumor. In many cases, the primary tumor is never found.
Signs & Symptoms
Signs and symptoms of metastatic squamous neck cancer with occult primary include a lump or pain in the neck or throat. Check with your doctor if you have a lump or pain in your neck or throat that doesn’t go away. These and other signs and symptoms may be caused by metastatic squamous neck cancer with occult primary. Other conditions may cause the same signs and symptoms.
Treatment
There are two types of standard treatment. Your OHC doctor will help you determine the best care plan for you.
- Surgery may include neck dissection. There are different types of neck dissection, based on the amount of tissue that is removed.
- Radical neck dissection: Surgery to remove tissues in one or both sides of the neck between the jawbone and the collarbone, including the following:
- All lymph nodes
- The jugular vein
- Muscles and nerves that are used for face, neck, and shoulder movement, speech, and swallowing
- The patient may need physical therapy of the throat, neck, shoulder, and/or arm after radical neck dissection. Radical neck dissection may be used when cancer has spread widely in the neck.
- Modified radical neck dissection: Surgery to remove all the lymph nodes in one or both sides of the neck without removing the neck muscles. The nerves and/or the jugular vein may be removed.
- Partial neck dissection: Surgery to remove some of the lymph nodes in the neck. This is also called selective neck dissection.
- Even if the doctor removes all the cancer that can be seen at the time of surgery, some patients may be given radiation therapy after surgery to kill any cancer cells that are left. Treatment given after surgery, to lower the risk that the cancer will come back, is called adjuvant therapy.
- Radical neck dissection: Surgery to remove tissues in one or both sides of the neck between the jawbone and the collarbone, including the following:
- Radiation therapy is a cancer treatment that uses high-energy x-rays or other types of radiation to kill cancer cells or keep them from growing.
