Synovial sarcoma of the head and neck: rare case of cervical metastasis.

BACKGROUND: Synovial sarcoma is a rarely encountered soft tissue sarcoma. Surgery with a wide surgical margin is the treatment of choice. However, there is no consensus on the treatment of head and neck synovial sarcoma in patients with cervical metastasis.

METHODS: A 20-year-old man was seen with a palpable mass in the right neck. He had been diagnosed with synovial sarcoma of the right tonsil and treated by surgery 1 and a half years before; therefore, the mass detected was thought to be a cervical metastasis of synovial sarcoma. We performed a modified radical neck dissection with no postoperative treatment. The pathological diagnosis was confirmed by detecting the SS-specific fusion gene SYT-SSX1.

RESULTS: The patient remains free of recurrence or metastasis 2 years and 10 months after the surgery.

CONCLUSIONS: We encountered a case of head and neck synovial sarcoma with cervical metastasis that was successfully treated.