To the Editor.—Welling and Taggart recently reported the first case of carcinoid tumor metastatic to the neck (Arch Surg 110:111, 1975). In the last four years we had the opportunity to evaluate 22 patients with carcinoid tumors. Although none of the 11 patients with nonserotonin-secreting carcinoid tumors had cervical node involvement, three of the 11 patients with serotonin-producing carcinoid tumors (and the carcinoid syndrome) had enlarged supraclavicular nodes.
A 53-year-old man developed melena and a left supraclavicular mass in 1963. Biopsy examination revealed that the mass was a Virchow node containing carcinoid tumor. The primary carcinoid tumor, located in the terminal ileum, was resected. In 1968 the patient developed the carcinoid syndrome. In 1972, during a laparotomy for recurrent gastrointestinal tract bleeding, hepatic metastases were noted. In 1974 the patient's liver function test results, liver size, and results of a liver scan (technetium Tc 99m sulfur colloid) remained within