Pathologic detection of occult metastases in regional lymph nodes in patients with head and neck cancer.

Squamous carcinomas of the head and neck region are exceedingly common problems in the routine practice of head and neck tumour surgery. Well-defined treatment protocols have evolved to manage patients afflicted with such tumours. This article explores the role of the hospital pathologist in the detection of occult metastases. The conventional approach to evaluation of cervical nodes from a neck dissection is reviewed, and then the potential utility of more recently developed diagnostic approaches (such as immunohistochemistry and polymerase chain reaction) is explored.