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Hypopharyngeal SCC - Nodal Drainage

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Hello, everyone.

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3 00:00:02,560 --> 00:00:05,970 Dr. Sidney Levy here, continuing our discussion of the diagnosis

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and staging of hypopharyngeal squamous cell malignancy.

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We've discussed patterns of spread and general

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imaging features of piriform sinus tumors.

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I'd like to briefly touch on the patterns of nodal drainage.

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These tend to be either to levels two, three,

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or four, and can extend widely between these regions.

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They may also be ipsilateral or contralateral,

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but frequently, they are bilateral.

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There is also a tendency amongst the more

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aggressive tumors to be associated with extra

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nodal extension, so it's important to look at the

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contour of the lymph nodes as well as their size.

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Hypopharyngeal malignancies, including piriform sinus

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malignancies, have a tendency to be associated with

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other tumors within the upper aerodigestive tract.

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So it's important to look for

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synchronous or metachronous tumors.

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And in this particular case, that's important

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because if we head down into the mid-esophagus,

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there is, in fact, a synchronous tumor in this patient.

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And that would be easy to miss

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if you weren't looking for it.

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Now, that can complicate matters because the

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superior mediastinal lymph nodes, otherwise

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known as level 7 in the head and neck lymph node

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classification, are considered regional lymph

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nodes for the purposes of head and neck staging.

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So therefore, if there is a lymph node in this

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region, we need to consider it a regional lymph node.

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And there is indeed, in this patient, an abnormal

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superior mediastinal or paratracheal lymph node.

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So this can be a little bit complicated because we now

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need to make an assessment as to whether we think this

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lymph node is related to the esophageal malignancy or

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alternatively, the much larger piriform sinus malignancy.

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We will formally stage this tumor in a subsequent vignette.

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But for the purposes of the discussion now,

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it is important to remember to look for other

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tumors when assessing a piriform sinus tumor.

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And to be aware that the nodal spread is wide and not

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uncommonly involves levels 2, 3, and 4 bilaterally.

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And keep in mind that level 7, the superior

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mediastinum, must be part of your checklist

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because regional lymph nodes can spread there.

Report

Description

Faculty

Sidney Levy, PhD, MBBS

Radiologist and Nuclear Medicine Specialist

I-MED

Tags

Neuroradiology

Neuro

Neoplastic

MRI

Head and Neck

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