Metastatic Squamous Neck Cancer with Occult Primary

Metastatic Squamous Neck Cancer with Occult Primary at a Glance

• Possible signs of metastatic squamous neck cancer with occult primary include a lump or pain in the neck or throat.
• This disease is usually caused by another unknown tumor site in the body.
• A doctor should be seen if there is a lump or pain in the neck or throat that doesn't go away.

What Is Metastatic Squamous Neck Cancer With Occult Primary?
Metastatic squamous neck cancer with occult primary is a disease in which squamous cell cancer spreads to lymph nodes in the neck and it is not known where the cancer first formed in the body.

Squamous cells are thin, flat cells found in tissues that form the surface of the skin and the lining of body cavities such as the mouth, hollow organs such as the uterus and blood vessels, and the lining of the respiratory (breathing) and digestive tracts. Some organs with squamous cells are the esophagus, lungs, kidneys, and uterus. Cancer can begin in squamous cells anywhere in the body and metastasize (spread) through the blood or lymph system to other parts of the body.

When squamous cell cancer spreads to lymph nodes in the neck or around the collarbone, it is called metastatic squamous neck cancer. The doctor will try to find the primary tumor (the cancer that first formed in the body), because treatment for metastatic cancer is the same as treatment for the primary tumor. For example, when lung cancer spreads to the neck, the cancer cells in the neck are lung cancer cells and they are treated the same as the cancer in the lung. Sometimes doctors cannot find where in the body the cancer first began to grow. When tests cannot find a primary tumor, it is called an occult (hidden) primary tumor. In many cases, the primary tumor is never found.

Symptoms

Possible signs of metastatic squamous neck cancer with occult primary include a lump or pain in the neck or throat.

A doctor should be seen if there is a lump or pain in the neck or throat that doesn't go away. These and other symptoms may be caused by metastatic squamous neck cancer with occult primary. Other conditions may cause the same symptoms.