Supraclavicular lymph node metastases in cervical cancer.

PURPOSE OF INVESTIGATION: To evaluate the outcome and prognostic factors of patients with supraclavicular lymph node (SCLN) involvement at primary diagnosis.

METHODS

We reviewed the medical records of cervical cancer patients primarily treated at Chang Gung Memorial Hospital between 1987 and 2005. Thirty-three patients with histologically confirmed SCLN metastasis at primary diagnosis were eligible for analysis. Clinical and pathological features were analyzed for association with outcome.

RESULTS

The 3- and 5-year survival rates of patients with SCLN metastasis were 16.5% and 16.5%, respectively. Multivariate analysis showed the serum level of squamous cell carcinoma antigen (SCC-Ag) < 15 ng/ml at initial diagnosis (p = 0.021) and staging/restaging including [18F] fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) (p = 0.006) to be associated with a better prognosis.

CONCLUSION

Primary SCLN metastasis in cervical cancer is not incurable. The benefit from PET findings might help in selecting appropriate patients for curative primary and/or salvage treatment.