Risk analysis in persistent cervical lymphadenopathies: Malignant or benign?

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Head and Neck Surgery
• Diagnostic Pathology

Background:

• Persistent cervical lymphadenopathy is a common clinical finding requiring accurate diagnosis.
• Distinguishing benign from malignant causes is crucial for timely and appropriate patient management.
• Predictive clinical parameters can aid in risk stratification and guide further diagnostic workup.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify clinical parameters that can predict malignancy in patients with persistent cervical lymphadenopathy.
• To establish a risk assessment model for cervical lymph node malignancy.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective review of 162 patients with persistent cervical lymphadenopathy who underwent excisional biopsy.
• Analysis of patient demographics, lymphadenopathy size, side, duration, and localization.
• Application of multiple regression analysis to correlate clinical factors with histopathological results.

Main Results:

• Male gender (OR=3.099), increasing age (OR=1.029), shorter duration of lymphadenopathy (OR=0.989), and involvement of neck level V (OR=2.604) were significantly associated with higher malignancy risk.
• No significant correlation was found between lymph node size or side and malignancy risk.
• Male gender emerged as the strongest predictor of malignancy.

Conclusions:

• Male gender is the most significant predictor of malignancy in persistent cervical lymphadenopathy.
• Age, disease duration, and specific lymph node location (neck level V) are also important predictive factors.
• These findings can assist clinicians in evaluating the likelihood of malignancy in patients presenting with cervical lymphadenopathy.