Primary "colonic type" tumors of the nasal cavity and paranasal sinuses are adenocarcinomas with histologic features similar to those of colonic cancers. Their behavior is one of local invasion and recurrence. Unlike tumors of the colon, they rarely metastasize. Surgical resection by means of lateral rhinotomy with or without radiation is the treatment of choice. Prognosis is poor. This type of tumor should be recognized by pathologists and its implications should be known to head and neck surgeons.
A cystic neck mass can be either malignant or benign; 22% of patients (4/18) admitted with the tentative diagnosis of branchial cyst in a recent 2-year period (1977-1979) had metastatic carcinoma: epidermoid, thyroid or salivary gland. Preoperative fine needle aspiration was diagnostic in 1 instance and unhelpful in 2. Frozen section analysis of the gross specimen invariably provided the correct diagnosis. All patients with malignancies had subclinical primary disease and in 1 instance random biopsies identified its origin. The prudent surgeon will avoid untoward results if he approaches a neck cyst in an adult as if it were malignant. Guidelines he can follow to prevent the inadvertent removal of a metastasis under the misapprehension that it is a benign neck cyst include: 1. Prior to operation, perform a thorough head and neck examination to identify a primary carcinoma; 2. Do a fine needle aspiration of the mass for cytology. A negative report must be considered inconclusive; 3. Make a gross examination in the operating room of the opened cyst and frozen section processing of suspicious areas; 4. Follow with a panendoscopy and random biopsies of appropriate areas and complete the neck dissection on the involved side, after a metastatic deposit has been recognized. The preoperative procurement of contingency consent for these procedures is understood.
Twenty‐four patients with advanced squamous cancer of the head and neck without distant metastases were given combination chemotherapy including methotrexate, bleomycin and diamminedichloroplatinum before planned local treatment with irradiation or surgery. Of 22 evaluable patients, 17 had objective partial or complete remission to initial chemotherapy. However, only ten patients ever had complete clearing at any time of all tumor on clinical evaluation. Median survival was ten months, and only two patients remained alive 14 and 29 months, respectively, from entry. Toxicity was minimal with the three‐drug treatment, but the addition of mitomycin‐C at the start of chemotherapy substantially increased toxicity without improving efficacy. Subsequent surgery and radiotherapy were accomplished without unusual difficulty.
Thirty‐four patients with advanced squamous cancer of the head and neck were treated with an outpatient regimen combining mitomycin‐C, cis‐diamminedichloroplatinum (II), methotrexate and bleomycin. Five had complete remissions and 15 partial remissions, for an overall response rate of 59%. Responses were noted in 11 of 13 patients (85%) with disease above the clavicles without prior irradiation. Median duration of partial remission was four months. Response rate was independent of age, performance status, presence of distant metastases and primary site. Hematologic toxicity was substantially more severe with this program than had been observed in a prior study using the same regimen without mitomycin‐C. Since neither complete nor partial response rates, nor response durations improved with the addition of mitomycin, we conclude that it adds little to the efficacy of the other three agents.
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