Recurrent head and neck cancer presenting as a large retroperitoneal mass

Conclusion

We present our case to present an exceedingly rare case of distant metastatic, recurrent disease from head and neck cancer to the retroperitoneum (without locoregional recurrence) that occurred 4 years after definitive treatment. We believe this to be the first case of its kind to be described when taking into consideration the site of metastases, when the metastatic recurrence occurred and that it happened without loco-regional disease recurrence. This case highlights the importance of keeping a wide differential diagnosis when encountering a retroperitoneal mass in a patient with even a remote history of head and neck cancer.

Acknowledgments

The authors thank the following members of the Department of Pathology at the University of Texas Medical Branch: Asad Ahmad, MD; Eduardo Eyzaguirre, MD; Timothy C Allen, MD, JD, FACP; and Suimmin Qiu, MD, PHD.