Clinical impact of radiographic carotid artery involvement in neck metastases from head and neck cancer

The treatment of lymph node metastases involving the carotid artery is controversial. The aim of the present study was to determine the outcomes of head and neck cancer patients with radiographic carotid artery involvement in neck metastases. A total of 27 patients with head and neck cancer and radiologically diagnosed advanced metastases involving the common carotid artery or internal carotid artery were enrolled. All patients underwent a primary or salvage neck dissection and surgical carotid peeling. The oncological outcome and survival of all patients were analyzed. Loco-regional control was observed in 13 of the 27 patients (48.1%). During follow-up, five patients (18.5%) developed second primaries and 11 (40.7%) developed distant metastases. The survival time was poor independent of regional control. The median overall survival was 1.55 years and disease-free survival was 0.71 year. Radiographic carotid artery involvement in neck metastases in head and neck cancer appears to correlate with a poor long-term prognosis, with a high rate of distant metastases despite loco-regional control.