[Cervical nodules: diagnosis and management]

Family physicians frequently encounter patients with neck lumps. The causes are numerous but in the adult the origin is most often a lymph node, the majority of which are malignant. Inappropriate management may often lead to a very poor outcome. Relevant investigations must therefore be correctly chosen. The risk for a neck lump to be malignant depends mainly on age, male sex, and alcohol and tobacco consumption and to a lesser extent on a family history for head and neck malignancy. Careful medical history looks for symptoms such as dysphagia, pain, dysphonia, otalgia, or weight loss. On physical examination, the location, size, consistency and mobility of the mass is described. A careful inspection of the scalp, skin of the face and mucosal surface of the upper aerodigestive tract is performed followed by palpation. If no inflammatory or tumoral lesion is identified, the next step is to perform a fine needle aspiration biopsy of the neck mass which will most often lead to a definite diagnosis. When this is not the case, an otolaryngology consultation and excisional biopsy should be obtained.