The role of surgical resection for distant metastasis of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma

We investigated the efficacy of surgical resection of metastatic lesions from head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) . We retrospectively reviewed 26 patients who underwent pulmonary or hepatic metastasectomy from HNSCC at Kyushu University Hospital between 2000 and 2016. The primary sites of HNSCC were as follows: nasopharynx in 3 cases, oropharynx in 6 cases, hypopharynx in 8 cases, larynx in 5 cases, tongue in 3 cases, and submandibular gland in 1 case. The metastasectomy was performed for pulmonary metastases in 22 cases and hepatic metastases in 4 cases. The overall 1-and 2-year survival rates were 78％ and 70.9％, respectively. The short disease-free interval from initial treatment to distant metastasis was associated with shorter overall survival after metastasectomy. Continued and careful surveillance is important after surgical resection of metastatic lesions.