Researchers at the University of Michigan Health System have found a new indicator that may predict which patients with a common type of throat cancer are most likely have the cancer spread to other parts of their bodies.

Patients with oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma who had "matted" lymph nodes — nodes that are connected together — had a 69% survival rate over three years, compared to 94% for patients without matted nodes, according to a study published online ahead of print publication in Head & Neck.

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