[Cases of head and neck carcinoma detected by sputum cytology--lung cancer screening and head and neck cancer].

Seven cases of head and neck carcinoma are presented. They were first noticed by sputum cytology, which was ordered to check lung cancer because of hemosputum (three cases), or in a general check-up of asymptomatic individuals. None of them had lung cancer, and three were found to have piriform sinus carcinoma, two mesopharynx carcinoma, and two vocal cord carcinoma. All seven cases were histologically diagnosed as squamous cell carcinoma. Their clinical stages were as follows; T 1 N 0, three cases; T 1 N 1, one case; T 2 N 0, two cases; T 2 N 1, one case (UICC 1978). These cases remind us that positive sputum cytology is not only a sign of lung cancer, but also of other upper aerodigestive tract malignancies. Sputum cytology may be useful for checking asymptomatic head and neck cancer patients, though it is still too costly and time-consuming to be applied to mass screening.