Clinical parameters predicting development of pulmonary malignancies in patients treated for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.

Background: As the locoregional control rates in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) have increased, these patients may suffer distant metastasis in a higher proportion of cases. Clinicopathological characteristics allowing prediction of high-risk profile would allow adapting posttreatment surveillance to individual risk.

Methods: A retrospective review of all patients with HNSCC treated at the Jewish General Hospital, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, between 1999 and 2008 was conducted for this study.