In recent years, the increasing numbers of small, apparently indolent thyroid cancers diagnosed in the world have encouraged investigators to consider non-intervention as an alternative to surgical management. In the following pages, the prospect of a non-intervention trial for thyroid cancer is considered with attention to the ethical issues that such a trial might raise. Such a non-intervention trial is analyzed relative to 7 ethical considerations: the social or scientific value of the research, the scientific validity of the trial, the necessity of fair selection of participants, a favorable risk-benefit ratio for trial participants, independent review of the trial, informed consent, and allowing the study participants to withdraw from the trial. A non-intervention trial for thyroid cancer is also considered relative to the central concept of equipoise.

Objective: To verify the prevalence of cervical lymph node metastasis in adenoid cystic carcinoma of major salivary glands, and to establish recommendations for elective neck treatment.Methods: A search was conducted of the US National Library of Medicine database. Appropriate articles were selected from the abstracts, and the original publications were obtained to extract data.Results: Among 483 cases of major salivary gland adenoid cystic carcinoma, a total of 90 (18.6 per cent) had cervical metastasis. The prevalence of positive nodes from adenoid cystic carcinoma was 14.5 per cent for parotid gland, 22.5 per cent for submandibular gland and 24.7 per cent for sublingual gland. Cervical lymph node metastasis occurred more frequently in patients with primary tumour stage T3-4 adenoid cystic carcinoma, and was usually located in levels II and III in the neck.Conclusion: Adenoid cystic carcinoma of the major salivary glands is associated with a significant prevalence of cervical node metastasis, and elective neck treatment is indicated for T-3 and T-4 primary tumours, as well as tumours with other histological risk factors.

Objective: To review reports of adenoid cystic carcinomas arising in the head and neck area outside of the major salivary glands, in order to enhance the care of patients with these unusual neoplasms.Methods: An international team of head and neck surgeons, pathologists, oncologists and radiation oncologists was assembled to explore the published experience and their own working experience of the diagnosis and treatment of adenoid cystic carcinomas arising in the vicinity of the sinonasal tract, nasopharynx, lacrimal glands and external auditory canal.Results: The behaviour of adenoid cystic carcinoma arising in head and neck sites exclusive of the major salivary glands parallels that of tumours with a similar histology arising in the major salivary glands-these are relentless, progressive tumours, associated with high rates of mortality. Of 774 patients reviewed, at least 41 (5.3 per cent) developed documented regional node metastases.Conclusion: The relatively low overall incidence of nodal metastases in adenoid cystic carcinomas arising in the head and neck region outside of the major salivary glands suggests that routine elective regional lymph node dissection might not be indicated in most patients with these tumours.

Abstract The existence of primary branchiogenic carcinoma – that is, carcinoma arising in a pre-existing branchial cleft cyst (a benign developmental cyst) – has in recent decades been the subject of increasing scepticism. Recognition of the propensity of a variety of head and neck sites – including in particular the tonsil – to give rise to cervical metastases while the primary tumours themselves remain undetected has given rise to the idea that virtually all cystic carcinomas of the neck represent metastatic deposits, whether or not their primary sites are found. A diagnosis of primary branchiogenic carcinoma should be viewed with extreme scepticism, and every effort should be made (e.g. imaging, panendoscopy, elective tonsillectomy) to exclude the existence of a primary site elsewhere, before considering a diagnosis of primary branchiogenic carcinoma.

Paraneoplastic syndromes (PNS) represent the clinical manifestation of the remote and indirect effects produced by tumor metabolites or other products. Paraneoplastic effects are not directly mediated by tumor invasion of normal tissue, or by the disruption of normal function of the involved organ, or by distant metastases. More than 260 cases of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) associated with PNS have been reported in the literature. These syndromes can be divided into six main groups: cutaneous or dermatologic, endocrine, hematologic, osteoarticular or rheumatologic, neurologic, and ocular. The most common dermatologic manifestation is dermatomyositis, while the syndrome of inappropriate secretion of antidiuretic hormone and occasionally Cushing's syndrome due to ectopic ACTH production are the endocrinologic manifestations. Tumor fever and leukemoid reaction, osteoarticular or rheumatic syndromes, including clubbing of the fingers and toes, sensory neuropathy and demyelinating motor polyneuropathy, and rarely optic neuritis represent the most prominent examples of the other groups of syndromes. PNS may occur before the NPC is manifest, or while it is in an occult stage, and thus the possibility of NPC should be considered in patients with these various disorders. While some PNS will respond to direct treatment, most often the PNS subsides in parallel to response of the NPC, and thus may be useful for monitoring tumor response or recurrence.

Cartilaginous tumors of the larynx, while rare, will on occasion be encountered by the otolaryngologist in routine daily practice. True laryngeal chondromas are exceedingly rare, and as a consequence, a putative diagnosis of chondroma should be viewed with suspicion. On pathologic examination, laryngeal chondromas usually prove to be small lesions (less than 2 cm in maximum dimension) and may arise in children or adults. Laryngeal chondrosarcomas, by contrast, usually prove to be larger lesions (exceeding 3 cm in greatest dimension) and are typically found in adults. While high-grade chondrosarcomas are readily identifiable on light microscopic study, the distinction between a chondroma and a low-grade chondrosarcoma is often not so clear-cut. Some low-grade chondrosarcomas may show a slight increase in both cellularity and cytologic atypia when compared with chondromas, but the two patterns often overlap. When faced with a limited biopsy specimen of a laryngeal cartilaginous lesion in which neither increased cellularity nor recognizable cytologic atypia is found, a diagnosis of "cartilaginous tumor without obvious evidence of malignancy--further classification dependent on examination of the lesion in its entirety," or words to this effect, is recommended.