HEAD AND NECK METASTASIS OF HYPERNEPHROMA

Background: Metastases of hypernephroma to the head and neck, especial ly to the larynx, are rare occurences. Patients: We report on two case s with solitary spread in the head and neck. A 73-year-old woman who u nderwent nephrectomy because of a hypernephroma six years ago had a ma nifestation in the right false vocal cord, which was resected by laser surgery. The specimen of the strumectomy in the other patient reveale d a metastasis of an asymptomatic hypernephroma to the thyroid gland a nd finally led to correct diagnosis of the primary tumor. Results: The female patient refused any further treatment and died of cachexia wit h tumor dissemination four months later. The other patient is still li ving with a local recurrence after palliative irradiation and administ ration of interleukin-2 and alpha-interferon. Conclusions: In absence of other tumor manifestations, choosing an adequate therapy can be dif ficult because of the long survival rates in some patients even after hematogenous spread and the unpredictable behavior of this malignancy.