1. What's in a Name?
Doctors name cancers for the organ or region where they originate. For example, diagnosing "neck cancer" isn't specific enough for a doctor to plan the best course of treatment. However, sometimes doctors can't find the origin of the cancer. If a doctor finds cancer that has metastasized (or spread) to lymph nodes in the neck, but he can't find the primary source of the tumor, the cancer has a hidden, or occult, primary site. If the neck cancer contains squamous cells, the pathologist labels the cancer as squamous cell carcinoma. Squamous cells line all hollow organs and passages of the digestive system, so they are abundant in many structures of the head and neck, including the mouth, esophagus and nasal passages.
2. Eliminate Risk Factors
Tobacco and alcohol use causes most head and neck cancers, including squamous-neck cancer with occult primary. In fact, smoking and drinking alcohol are responsible for more than 80 percent of cancers of the oral cavity, salivary glands, oropharynx, hypopharynx, nasopharynx and larynx. Doctors often implicate these cancers as the primary source of metastatic squamous neck cancer with occult primary. To prevent head and neck cancers, as well as a host of other cancers, you should stop smoking and consume alcohol only in moderation.
3. Turning a Mystery into a Diagnosis
If a patient visits a doctor complaining of neck pain, the doctor will perform several tests that could lead to a diagnosis of squamous neck cancer with occult primary. The doctor may order blood tests that look for substances produced by the tumor, called tumor markers. Imaging tests, such as CAT scans, X-rays and ultrasounds, can reveal tumors in the neck or elsewhere. The definitive test to diagnose cancer is a biopsy, in which the doctor removes tissue from the tumor and inspects it under a microscope for the presence of cancer cells.
4. Treatment Ferrets Out Hidden Cancer Cells
If the doctor can't find cancerous cells outside the neck, the patient may receive one of two local treatments. Radiation therapy kills cancer cells in the neck with high-energy X-ray beams. If surgeons feel they can remove the entire mass, patients may have a procedure called a radical neck dissection. In this procedure, the surgeon removes lymph nodes, veins, muscles and nerves from the neck. Patients may have radiation therapy to the neck following surgery to increase the chances of a cure.
5. Seek Support
Treatment for squamous neck cancer with occult primary can cause physical and functional changes. Neck surgery can alter a patient's appearance. Radiation therapy to the neck can cause salivary gland impairment and dental problems. Patients can ask a doctor or social worker for a referral to an organization that offers support to patients with head and neck cancers, so the patient can speak to others who have survived this disease.
