ReviewHead and neck pathology2015
Approach to metastatic carcinoma of unknown primary in the head and neck: squamous cell carcinoma and beyond.
Review in Head and neck pathology, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 28 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
28 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 86 citations in OpenAlex.
- A systematic review on Transoral robotic surgery (TORS) for carcinoma of unknown primary origin: Has tongue base mucosectomy become indispensable?Clinical otolaryngology : official journal of ENT-UK ; official journal of Netherlands Society for Oto-Rhino-Laryngology & Cervico-Facial Surgery · 2020Pooled it
- Comparable Outcomes Without Routine Pan-mucosal Irradiation in Head and Neck Carcinoma of Unknown Primary.Advances in radiation oncology · 2026Article
- Efficacy of Multimodal Work-Up of Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma Lymph Node Metastasis of Unknown Primary.Head & neck · 2026Article
- Head and neck cancer of unknown primary: a nationwide analysis of hospital-based cancer registry data in Japan, 2018-2022.International journal of clinical oncology · 2026Review
- The Diagnostic Value of PET/CT and MRI in Head and Neck Cancer of Unknown Primary.Laryngoscope investigative otolaryngology · 2026Article
- HPV16-Positive Pelvic Nodal Squamous Cell Carcinoma with No Detectable Cervical Malignancy.Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Surgical management of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma metastatic to the parotid gland.Frontiers in oncology · 2025Review
- Article
- Metastatic cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma accounts for nearly all squamous cell carcinomas of the parotid gland.Virchows Archiv : an international journal of pathology · 2024Review
- Head and Neck Cancer of Unknown Primary: A Multicenter Retrospective Cohort study in Northern Thailand, an Endemic Nasopharyngeal Cancer Area.Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention : APJCP · 2024Article
- Intrathyroidal metastasis of tonsillar squamous cell carcinoma masquerading as a primary thyroid tumor.Journal of pathology and translational medicine · 2023Article
- Clinicopathologic characterization of cervical metastasis from an unknown primary tumor: a multicenter study in Korea.Journal of pathology and translational medicine · 2023Article
- Cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma with secondary parotid metastasis: a case report.AME case reports · 2023Article
- Article
- Role of Whole body PET/CT and Examination under anesthesia with multi-site biopsy in evaluating CUP.Indian journal of otolaryngology and head and neck surgery : official publication of the Association of Otolaryngologists of India · 2022Article
- Cervical squamous cell carcinoma of unknown primary: Oncological outcomes and prognostic factors.Frontiers in oncology · 2022Article
- An Unusual Case of Biliary Obstruction Because of Human Papillomavirus-Associated Metastatic Squamous Cell Carcinoma From Head and Neck Primary.ACG case reports journal · 2021Article
- Review
- Quantitative assessment of p16 expression in FNA specimens from head and neck squamous cell carcinoma and correlation with HPV status.Cancer cytopathology · 2021Article
- Proceedings of the North American Society of Head and Neck Pathology, Baltimore, MD, March 17, 2021: The Mistakes I Made When I Stepped Out of My Neck of the Woods.Head and neck pathology · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Metastatic carcinoma to cervical lymph nodes presenting as an unknown primary is quite common. In most cases, the primary site is ultimately identified. Carcinomas that remain of unknown primary after a thorough search are uncommon. This review will focus on those cases that initially present as unknown primaries, since this is the setting in which pathologists first encounter these cases and in which they play an important role in guiding patient management. Most are squamous cell carcinomas, the majority of which are human papillomavirus (HPV)-related and originate in the palatine tonsils and base of tongue. HPV-related oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinomas are increasing in incidence and have unique clinical and pathologic features that make them particularly likely to present as an unknown primary. Understanding these features has led to improved detection of the primary tumors. Further, even when the primary tumor is not found, prognosis is very dependent on characterization of the tumor HPV status. Papillary thyroid carcinomas may also initially present without a known or clinically detectable primary, either as a neck mass or incidentally in a neck dissection performed for another indication. The latter is a very indolent disease. Finally, primary salivary gland carcinomas may mimic an unknown primary and need to be distinguished from cutaneous metastases to the parotid gland, which may present without a recognized skin tumor. Here, we review the clinical and pathologic features of these entities and provide a systematic approach to their diagnosis.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.