The Diagnostic Significance of a “Lump in the Neck”

Abstract

The medical profession must be reminded emphatically of the frequency with which cervical metastasis may appear as the first and only symptom in cancer of the mouth, pharynx and larynx, less often elsewhere in the body. There can be no possibility of cure until the primary lesion is found. The immediate removal of a lymph node for diagnosis is never in the best interests of the patient.