Introduction. Bone metastasis (BM), a common and awful complication of advanced malignancy, is comparatively infrequent in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). Having a discouraging survival of around 6-months only, BM decreases the quality of life in such patients. We reported 13 cases of BM in HNSCC patients in respect to clinical patterns, treatment modalities and outcome.
Material and methods. This is a retrospective study conducted in a tertiary cancer institute of India. Records of all HNSCC patients reviewed and patients having BM were identified.
Results. Total 13 cases of BM were found over a 5-year period; 5 patients having synchronous BM and the rest had developed metastasis later. Monostotic and polyostotic diseases were found in 8 and 5 patients, respectively, bone exclusive disease was seen in 6 patients only. Overall median survival was 6.7 months.
Conclusions. Palliation seems to be the only option once BM is diagnosed in HNSCC. All of our patients received local palliative radiation, and systemic chemotherapy to increase survival. As there is no standardized treatment for such occurrence, more case series and prospective studies are welcomed
