Author(s)

Alexandre Anesi, Giuseppe Pollastri, Vincenzo Bondì, Sara Barberini, Luigi Chiarini

Section of Cranio-Maxillo-Facial Surgery, Department of Head and Neck Surgery, University Hospital of Modena, Modena, Italy.
Section of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Department of Surgery, Azienda Ospedaliera Universitaria Integrata, Verona, Italy.

Branchiogenic carcinoma is extremely rare. The majority of branchiogenic carcinomas are cystic metastases originating in the tonsils, and not true carcinomas arising in a branchial cleft cyst. Isolated cystic neck lesions necessitate a thorough search for a primary tumor, as with other occult primaries presenting with cervical metastases. As the existence of primary branchiogenic carcinoma is controversial, Martin and colleagues and then Khafif and coworkers established a series of widely accepted criteria to recognize this type of carcinoma. We report a case of a large cervical mass, consistent with a branchiogenic carcinoma of the second branchial arch. The patient underwent excision of the neck mass through a radical neck dissection. The cyst wall was found to have squamous cell carcinoma arising from the benign epithelium. Follow-up at 7 years revealed no evidence of recurrence. All diagnostic criteria for a true branchiogenic carcinoma were met in this case. The absence of adjuvant irradiation is a further confirmation that the mass is not a cystic node metastasis but a carcinoma arised from within a branchial cleft cyst.

Branchial Cleft Cyst; Branchial Cyst; Branchiogenic Carcinoma; Malignant Branchioma; Cystic Cervical Lymph Node Metastasis

Anesi, A. , Pollastri, G. , Bondì, V. , Barberini, S. and Chiarini, L. (2012) Absence of adjuvant radiotherapy may be an additional criteria in diagnosing a branchiogenic squamous cell carcinoma: A case report. Open Journal of Stomatology, 2, 63-67. doi: 10.4236/ojst.2012.21012.