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Management of Neck Disease in Early Stage Disease

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Nasopharyngeal Cancer

Part of the book series: Practical Guides in Radiation Oncology ((PGRO))

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Abstract

Radiotherapy (RT) is the mainstay treatment for nonmetastatic nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). Since NPC has a high incidence of cervical lymph node (CLN) metastasis, the radiation target routinely includes the primary tumor of nasopharynx and the whole neck (levels II–V), regardless of the nodal status. However, several studies have reported that metastasis to CLNs from NPC spreads in an orderly pattern, i.e., from the higher to the ipsilateral lower levels and with a minimal incidence of skip metastasis; and elective neck irradiation according to the node status in NPC has been considered feasible. Herein, we will review the anatomy of CLN levels, common patterns of CLN metastasis, and the management of neck disease in NPC in the intensity-modulated RT era, according to the updated consensus guidelines.

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Acknowledgment

Conflict of Interest Statement: None declared.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Radiation Oncology, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou, Guangdong, People’s Republic of China

    Ling-Long Tang

  2. State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Guangzhou, People’s Republic of China

    Ling-Long Tang

  3. Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Guangzhou, People’s Republic of China

    Ling-Long Tang

  4. Guangdong Key Laboratory of Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma Diagnosis and Therapy, Guangzhou, People’s Republic of China

    Ling-Long Tang

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  1. Ling-Long Tang
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Correspondence to Ling-Long Tang .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Radiation Oncology, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou, China

    Jun Ma

  2. Department of Radiation Oncology, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, USA

    Nancy Y. Lee

  3. Department of Radiation Oncology, Shanghai Proton and Heavy Ion Center, Shanghai, China

    Jiade J. Lu

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Tang, LL. (2021). Management of Neck Disease in Early Stage Disease. In: Ma, J., Lee, N.Y., Lu, J.J. (eds) Nasopharyngeal Cancer. Practical Guides in Radiation Oncology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-65037-7_3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-65037-7_3

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-65036-0

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-65037-7

  • eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)

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