Volume 35, Issue 11 pp. 1669-1678
Basic Science Review

Emerging insights into head and neck cancer metastasis

Clint T. Allen MD

Clint T. Allen MD

Department of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri

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Jonathan H. Law MD

Jonathan H. Law MD

Department of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri

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Gavin P. Dunn MD, PhD

Gavin P. Dunn MD, PhD

Department of Neurosurgery, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts

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Ravindra Uppaluri MD, PhD

Corresponding Author

Ravindra Uppaluri MD, PhD

Department of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri

John Cochran Veterans Affairs Medical Center, St. Louis, Missouri

Washington University School of Medicine, Department of Otolaryngology, Box 8115, 660 South Euclid Avenue, St. Louis, MO 63110. E-mail: [email protected]Search for more papers by this author
First published: 22 December 2012
Citations: 52

Abstract

The purpose of this review was to provide biological concepts of head and neck cancer metastasis. To attain this goal, we analyzed peer-reviewed articles related to head and neck cancer metastasis obtained though PubMed and archived articles. Articles related to the biologic principles of head and neck cancer metastasis were reviewed and summarized. As locoregional control has improved for patients with head and neck cancer, rates of distant metastasis have not decreased. As patients live longer, many will die of complications related to the development of disease at sites below the clavicles. Emerging evidence now suggests a more complicated framework of metastatic behavior for head and neck cancer. Here, we review the role of regional lymph nodes in containing advanced head and neck cancer, evidence for active as opposed to passive tumor cell metastasis, and clinical implications these concepts have on both treatment of head and neck cancer and future research. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Head Neck, 35: 1669–1678, 2013

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