Affiliations 

  • 1 Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, School of Medical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Kubang Kerian, Malaysia
  • 2 Department of Head and Neck Surgery, Chris O'Brien Lifehouse, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
ANZ J Surg, 2021 Dec;91(12):2617-2623.
PMID: 33634950 DOI: 10.1111/ans.16622

Abstract

Historically, patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) with distant metastases were regarded as palliative. Oligometastasis (OM) refers to patients with a limited number of distant metastatic deposits. Treatment of patients with OMs has been reported in patients with lung, colon, breast, prostate and brain malignancies. Selected patients with oligometastatic HNSCC have a higher probability of durable disease control and cure and these patients should be treated aggressively. Treatment options for patients with HNSCC OMs include single or combinations of the three arms of cancer treatment, that is surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy/immunotherapy. To date, there are limited studies reporting the management of OM with head and neck malignancy. This review will give insights into the management of OMs in HNSCC.

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.