Distant metastases from carcinoma of the oral cavity and pharynx

Distant metastases were detected clinically in 25 (14%) of 173 patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the oral cavity and pharynx admitted from 1975 to 1982. The probability of distant metastases was higher in patients with advanced tumor (stages III and IV: 21%; T4: 27%; N3: 37%), lymphoepithelioma (57%) and in patients with a decreased lymphocyte count in the peripheral blood at presentation (less than 1300/microliter; 58%). The incidence of metastases in advanced cases was 45% in the oropharynx, 24% in the nasopharynx and 20% in the oral cavity. Whether the regional tumor had been controlled or not in advanced cases, there was no difference between the incidence and the period of detection of distant metastases.