The incidence of lymph node metastasis in nasopharyngeal carcinoma is very high, especially in the neck. More than 10% of patients seek medical advice with cervical mass as the initial symptom. Lymph node metastasis mainly occurs in the anterior and posterior cervical lymph nodes. The typical sites are anterior and inferior mastoid, posterior to mandibular angle and deep surface of sternocleidomastoid muscle. The metastatic focus is generally hard and can move. With the development of the disease, the hardness gradually increases, and the mobility gradually decreases, so that it is completely fixed. There are various ways of lymph node metastasis, including single or multiple lymph nodes on one side, whole neck metastasis on one side and individual group metastasis on the other side, or jumping metastasis to the lower neck, while there is no lymph node metastasis in the superior static region, or lymph node metastasis occurs first on the opposite side.
