Objective: The aim of this study is to characterize the inflammatory response in patients with head and neck cancer. More specifically, the study intend to investigate inflammatory and genetic differences between the primary tumor, the sentinel lymph node, and other regional lymph nodes. The investigator also aim to assess how the immunological and genetic responses differ in lymph nodes with and without metastases. To enable the detection of metastases in lymph nodes containing very few cancer cells, the investigator are developing a method to identify tumor cells using flow cytometry. Additionally, both tumor tissue and lymph nodes will undergo in vitro testing of checkpoint blockade therapy, a relatively new form of cancer immunotherapy.

Methods: Biopsies from the primary tumor will be used to assess local inflammation. Fine-needle aspirates and dissected lymph node tissue will be analyzed to study inflammatory and genetic responses, as well as to detect tumor cells within these nodes. Blood samples from patients with head and neck cancer will be analyzed for inflammatory mediators. Lymph nodes from patients without cancer will be collected during benign neck surgeries. Immunological and genetic parameters from these control lymph nodes will be compared to those from the cancer patients to identify disease-specific patterns.