Controversies in Management of Cervical Lymphadenopathy: Recommendations from the Head and Neck Surgical Oncology Perspective

Saturday, October 17, 2026

9:30 AM - 10:30 AM PT

Location: 518

Moderator(s)

Arielle Thal, MD

Assistant Professor
Thomas Jefferson University
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States

Panelist(s)

Alice L. Tang, MD

Associate Professor
University of Cincinnati
Cincinnati, OH, United States
David M. Cognetti, MD

Herbert Kean, MD Professor, Chair
1) Department of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery, Sidney Kimmel Medical School/Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Thomas Jefferson University
Philadelphia, PA, United States
Alexandra E. Kejner, MD, FACS

Associate Professor Head&Neck Surgical Oncology, Microvascular Reconstruction
Medical University of South Carolina
Charleston, South Carolina, United States

Disclosure(s):

Arielle Thal, MD:

faculty for this accredited education activity has no relationship(s) with ineligible companies to disclose.

This session will provide recommendations for the workup of cervical lymphadenopathy from the head and neck surgical oncology perspective, offering general practitioners steps to take before head and neck referral and identifying patients who would benefit from early referral to a head and neck surgical oncologist.

Learning Objectives:

Identify core components of the clinical practice guideline for evaluation of a neck mass in adults and identify common deviations from the guideline.
Review the most frequently used imaging modalities for the workup of a head and neck mass (including US, CT, MRI) and discuss the utility of each in obtaining a diagnosis depending on the differential (ex: thyroid vs salivary vs lymphoma).
Review FNA, core needle biopsy and open biopsy to discuss the benefits and risks of each and the diagnostic yield of each method based on the differential diagnosis.