The difference between a neck lump and a tumor

A neck lump is an obvious lump that appears on our neck. The causes of neck lumps are relatively complicated, so there are many different treatment options for neck lumps. In daily life, many people tend to confuse neck lumps with cancer. In fact, a neck lump does not necessarily develop into a tumor or cancer, but cancer is just a lump at the beginning.

About Neck Lumps

1. Congenital mass in the neck

Including thyrohyoid cyst and branchial cleft cyst. Thyrohyoid cysts are mostly located in the anterior midline of the neck, mostly on the thyrohyoid membrane and thyroid cartilage; the mass is cystic and moves up and down with swallowing. Branchial cleft cysts and fistulas are mostly unilateral, and a few are bilateral. Some patients are diagnosed at birth, but most are not discovered until adolescence, usually because the cysts enlarge or become infected.

2. The lump is soft and fluctuates

When combined with infection, abscesses are formed, which may rupture on their own and become draining sinuses. In cases with branchial cleft fistula, the external opening is usually very small and located at the anterior edge of the sternocleidomastoid muscle. Intermittent milky, mucous, or purulent material may be discharged from the external opening. The location and course of branchial cleft cysts and fistulas vary depending on the branchial cleft or branchial sac from which they originate. Cervical schwannomas grow slowly and have a long history. Cervical schwannomas are often round or oval, sometimes lobed, and are tough to the touch, with clear boundaries and a smooth surface.

3. The mass can move left and right along the nerve axis, but cannot move up and down.

Carotid body tumors may not cause any symptoms in the early stages, but as the tumor grows larger, there may be a feeling of distension and pain. The lumps are mostly located in the anterior and inferior part of the mandibular angle, and a few bulge toward the pharyngeal side. The lump is round or oval in shape, with clear boundaries and a tough texture. The carotid artery pulse can be felt on the surface of the tumor, and vascular bruits may be detected by auscultation. When the tumor invades or compresses the vagus nerve, hoarseness and coughing when eating may occur; if it affects the sympathetic nerves, the pupil of the affected side may constrict, the palpebral fissure may become smaller, and sweating on the affected side of the face may decrease or disappear; if the hypoglossal nerve is damaged, the tongue muscles on the affected side may atrophy, and the tongue may deviate to the healthy side when it is extended. Malignant lumps in the neck are most commonly caused by metastatic cancer to the cervical lymph nodes. Cervical lymph node metastasis mostly occurs in adults over middle age. It presents as a painless mass that progressively enlarges on one or both sides of the neck.

4. In the early stage of the disease, it is usually single

The lumps are small, hard and have poor mobility. As the disease progresses, the number of lumps increases and they fuse with each other. The lump is adhered and fixed to the skin. When the tumor is large, it compresses organs, esophagus, and nerves, causing corresponding symptoms and signs. Some squamous cell carcinomas and thyroid cancers may become cystic due to tissue necrosis and liquefaction in the metastatic tumor. In some cases, the tumor may invade the skin and cause skin ulceration, bleeding, secondary infection, etc.