Devaney K O, Rinaldo A, Ferlito A, Silver C E, Fagan J J, Bradley P J, Suárez C
Department of Pathology, Foote Hospital, Jackson, Michigan, USA.
J Laryngol Otol. 2008 Jun;122(6):547-50. doi: 10.1017/S0022215107001004. Epub 2007 Nov 16.
The existence of primary branchiogenic carcinoma - that is, carcinoma arising in a pre-existing branchial cleft cyst (a benign developmental cyst) - has in recent decades been the subject of increasing scepticism. Recognition of the propensity of a variety of head and neck sites - including in particular the tonsil - to give rise to cervical metastases while the primary tumours themselves remain undetected has given rise to the idea that virtually all cystic carcinomas of the neck represent metastatic deposits, whether or not their primary sites are found. A diagnosis of primary branchiogenic carcinoma should be viewed with extreme scepticism, and every effort should be made (e.g. imaging, panendoscopy, elective tonsillectomy) to exclude the existence of a primary site elsewhere, before considering a diagnosis of primary branchiogenic carcinoma.
原发性鳃源性癌（即起源于先前存在的鳃裂囊肿——一种良性发育性囊肿的癌）的存在在近几十年来越来越受到质疑。认识到包括扁桃体在内的各种头颈部部位有产生颈部转移的倾向，而原发性肿瘤本身仍未被发现，这引发了一种观点，即几乎所有颈部囊性癌都代表转移性沉积物，无论其原发部位是否被发现。对原发性鳃源性癌的诊断应极其谨慎看待，在考虑诊断原发性鳃源性癌之前，应尽一切努力（如影像学检查、全内镜检查、选择性扁桃体切除术）排除其他部位存在原发灶的可能性。
