The role of neck dissection in a treatment of solitary neck metastasis of remote primary tumor

In the last 30 years, the introduction of new targeted cancer drugs has changed the approach to cancer patients, as well as the prognosis and expected survival. Some clinical studies show improved survival when radical local radiotherapy is added to standard systemic therapy in oligometastatic disease. This work aimed to show the positive impact of neck dissection on survival in selected cases of patients with supraclavicular neck metastasis of remote (infraclavicular) primary sites. In a 10-year period, 15 patients treated with neck dissection (for supraclavicular metastasis from infraclavicular primary origin) in the Head and Neck Surgery Department database were found. There were 13 patients with breast cancer, one patient with lung cancer, and one patient with ovarian cancer. In 2/13 patients with breast cancer, a long follow-up period without signs of disease was achieved. The patient with lung cancer had uneventful long-term follow-up. The patient with ovarian cancer gained three years without signs of the disease before dissemination occurred. This case series suggests neck dissection as a reasonable treatment of choice in selected patients with neck metastasis from remote primary sites. Despite overall rare complete control of the disease, described in the literature and our study, long-term disease-free follow-up can be achieved in some patients.