The presence or absence of distant metastases in squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck is critical in making rational therapeutic decisions. Radionucleotide bone and liver scans are frequently utilized in the initial evaluation of these patients for possible distant metastases. The true value of routine bone and liver scans in the initial staging of primary squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck is unknown. One hundred eighteen patients with primary squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck, evaluated during a five-year period, were retrospectively reviewed. Eight percent were stage I, 18% stage II, 21% stage III, 53% stage IV. Because metastatic carcinoma of the head and neck is primarily regional or pulmonary, the low prevalence of liver and bone metastases limits the usefulness of these radionucleotide scans. We conclude that routine bone and liver scanning is not a valuable diagnostic technique in the initial staging of head and neck carcinoma when clinical or biochemical evidence of distant metastases is not present.
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