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Cervical Nodal Metastasis from an Unknown Primary Carcinoma

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Radiation Therapy of Head and Neck Cancer

Part of the book series: Medical Radiology ((Med Radiol Radiat Oncol))

Abstract

The diagnostic and therapeutic problems of cervical lymph node metastasis from an occult primary carcinoma are a dilemma for the oncologist. In general, patients who present with metastases and no obvious primary site of origin, have a median survival of three to four months (Holmes and Fouts 1970; Richardson and Parker 1975; Smith et al. 1977). This poor prognosis is not altered by treatment unless a primary site can be identified, or the region that is the most probable primary site can be defined (Nystrom et al. 1977). Autopsy studies of patients who have presented with metastasis from occult primary malignant tumors reveal the site of origin in only 15% of cases.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Radiation Oncology, Medical College of Wisconsin, 8700 W. Wisconsin Avenue, Milwaukee, WI, 53226, USA

    Judith Stitt Haas M.D. (Assistant Professor)

  2. Department of Radiation Oncology, Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center, 622 W. 168th Street, New York, NY, 10032, USA

    James D. Cox M.D. (Professor and Chairman)

Authors
  1. Judith Stitt Haas M.D.
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  2. James D. Cox M.D.
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Washington, School of Medicine and University Hospital, Seattle, WA, 98195, USA

    George E. Laramore Ph.D., M.D. (Professor of Radiation Oncology, Clinical Director) (Professor of Radiation Oncology, Clinical Director)

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© 1989 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Haas, J.S., Cox, J.D. (1989). Cervical Nodal Metastasis from an Unknown Primary Carcinoma. In: Laramore, G.E. (eds) Radiation Therapy of Head and Neck Cancer. Medical Radiology. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-83501-8_15

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-83501-8_15

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-83503-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-83501-8

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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