The relationship between cervical cysts and tonsillar carcinoma in adults

An investigation of the clinical results in 42 patients with lateral cervical cysts is presented. Fine needle aspiration biopsy suggested malignancy in three cases. After surgical removal, another six cases of malignancy were revealed by histologic examination. In six of the nine cases of malignancy, an ipsilateral tonsillar carcinoma was found on routinely performed tonsillectomy. However, the clinical appearance of the tonsils was normal in four of these patients. Analysis of all patients according to age revealed that the malignancy rate was 80% among those aged greater than 40 years. It is suggested that tonsillectomy for histologic examination should be performed routinely when lateral cervical cysts are removed in adults.