Ultrasonography-Guided Fine-Needle Aspiration for the Assessment of Cervical Metastases

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Abstract
INVASIVE SQUAMOUS cell carcinoma of the upper aerodigestive tract has a strong potential for metastatic spread to the cervical lymph nodes. The neck status is probably the single most important prognosticator in head and neck cancer, as the presence of metastatic disease drastically reduces the patient's chance of survival.1-3 Clinical examination for the detection of metastases by palpation is unreliable, as occult neck disease can occur in up to 50% of patients, depending on characteristics of the primary tumor.4-10 Factors that have been shown to increase the risk of cervical metastases include the site of the primary tumor, tumor thickness, DNA ploidy, and tumor growth patterns such as infiltrating margins, perineural spread, and angioinvasion.1,10-12