A Systematic Review of Cancer of Unknown Primary in the Head and Neck Region

Figures & data

Table 1 Treatment and Outcome of Treating Cancer of Unknown Primary in the Head and Neck Region

Study (Data of Publication)	No. of Patients (Total No. in Study	Radiotherapy RT Dosage (Range)	Type of Radiotherapy	Chemotherapy Regimen	Number of Patients Treated with Chemotherapy/Chemoradiotherapy	Invasive Diagnostics Surgical Treatment Before RT No.(%)	N Category at the Time of Presentation	Local Recurrence (%)	Overall Survival (%)
Dorobisz et al^Citation2 (2019), 233	233	66–72 Gy	Ns	ChRT CIS, Ch 5-FU	Ch - 135, ChRT - ns	T 37, bND, uND 109	N1 33, N2 100, N3 100		At 2 y. 35.6%
Wang et al^Citation18 (2018)	154	dRT 65–70 Gy pRT60-66 Gy	3D-CRT 23, IMRT - 19,	ChRT CIS/CARB ± 5-FU, Ch taxanes, 5FU, and platinum-based drugs	Ch 68, ChRT ns	FNA 86, iB 6, cB 28, cnB 9, nD 25	N1 78, N2 62, N3 14	5.8	At 2 y. 73.5%
Ligey et al^Citation22 (2009)	95	<61 Gy, 61–66 Gy >66 Gy	2D- 75, 3D-CRT 10, IMRT 10	CIS, 5FU	Ch 4, ChRT 37	nD 79, T 5, sB 18, slns 16	N1 9, N2 53, N3 15	30	At 5 y. 24%
Al Kadah^Citation28 (2017)	81	22–72 Gy	3D-CRT 81 IMRT 16*	5FU + CIS, cetuximab	Ch ns, ChRT 22	unD 54, bnD 8	N1 13, N2 48, N3 20	31†	At 5 y. 30%

Notes: *Performed in the last five years of the observation period (16 patients). ^†20 patients for 63 patients.

Abbreviations: Gy, Gray; dRT, definitive radiotherapy; pRT, postoperative radiotherapy; ns, not specified; ChRT, Chemoradiotherapy; 3D-CRT, three-dimensional conformal radiation therapy; IMRT, Intensity-modulated radiation therapy; Ch, chemoradiotherapy; CIS, cisplatin; 5FU, 5-fluorouracil; CARB, carboplatin; T, tonsillectomy; bND, bilateral neck dissection; uND, unilateral neck dissection; FNA, fine needle aspiration; iB, incisional biopsy; eB, excisional biopsy; cnB, core needle biopsy; nD, neck dissection; sB, systematic biopsies; slns, single lymph node sampling.

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