IMMUNOCYTOLOGIC DETECTION OF ISOLATED TUMOR-CELLS IN BONE-MARROW OF PATIENTS WITH SQUAMOUS-CELL CARCINOMAS OF THE HEAD AND NECK REGION

The well-documented specificity of anticytokeratin monoclonal antibodi es for detection of epithelial micrometastatic cancer cells in bone ma rrow as a prognostic indicator inspired us to apply this approach to p atients with squamous cell carcinomas (SSC) of the head and neck regio n. The sensitivity of the broad-spectrum anticytokeratin monoclonal an tibody (mAb) A45-B/B3 used for tumor cell-detection was demonstrated b y immunostaining of cryostat sections from the respective primary tumo rs. Analysis of 31 patients with SSC revealed A45-B/B3-positive cells in 10 cases (32.3%) at frequencies of 1-207 per 1x10(6) mononuclear ce lls. Most specimens displayed isolated tumor cells, while cell cluster s were found in only two cases (6.5%). The present data suggest that h ematogenous dissemination of cancer cells is more frequent than expect ed from clinicopathologic staging of patients with SSC of the head and neck region.