Distant metastasis from head and neck cancer: role of surgical treatment

Purpose of review The rates of distant metastases in patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma varies from 3 to 50%. Metastases are usually multiple, diagnosed within 24 months after treatment and sited in the lungs, bone or liver. This review highlights the importance of a personalized treatment approach in such patients. Recent findings In patients with primary tumor controlled and with oligometastatic disease, surgical options can be considered, especially for lung metastases. Overall survival for patients who are candidates for lung metastasectomy can be as high as 59%. In bone and liver metastases, resection is not frequently used but radiofrequency ablation is a promising option. Finally, mediastinal and axillary lymph node metastasis are classified as distant metastases, and lymph node dissection is the treatment of choice whenever the disease is limited to these sites. Patients with distant metastases usually are considered incurable; however, an aggressive local treatment of solitary distant metastases should be considered in highly selected patients, with a potential increase of overall survival.