A retrospective outcome analysis of 107 patients with neck metastasis from an occult primary tumor, was performed at the Head and Neck Service of Heliópolis Hospital, São Paulo, Brazil from 1977 to 1995, being the squamous-cell carcinoma, the more frequent neoplasia. Ninety three percent of patients had advanced disease (stage N2 or N3). The 5-year free of disease survival was 24%, forty percent for patients up to 55 years old and 8% for patients more than 55 years (p = 0,01). Patients with undifferentiated tumors and those with disease at level IV had an earlier relapse of disease. The treatment, stage and age were significant in multivariate analysis (p < 0,05).
Cancer; Occult primary; Metastasis
