Supraclavicular lymph node metastases in cervical cancer

Purpose of investigation: To evaluate the outcome and prognostic factors of patients with supraclavicular lymph node (SCLN) involvement at primary diagnosis. Methods: We reviewed the medical records of cervical cancer patients primarily treated at Chang Gung Memorial Hospital between 1987 and 2005. Thirty-three patients with histologically confirmed SCLN metastasis at primary diagnosis were eligible for analysis. Clinical and pathological features were analyzed for association with outcome. Results: The 3- and 5-year survival rates of patients with SCLN metastasis were 16.5% and 16.5%, respectively. Multivariate analysis showed the serum level of squamous cell carcinoma antigen (SCC-Ag) < 15 ng/ml at initial diagnosis (p = 0.021) and staging/restaging including [¹⁸F] fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) (p = 0.006) to be associated with a better prognosis. Conclusion: Primary SCLN metastasis in cervical cancer is not incurable. The benefit from PET findings might help in selecting appropriate patients for curative primary and/or salvage treatment.