S. Makkregar et al., SQUAMOUS-CELL CARCINOMA OF THE TONSILLAR REGION AND THE BASE OF THE TONGUE - A MORPHOLOGICAL AND IMMUNOHISTOCHEMICAL COMPARATIVE PILOT-STUDY, Journal of Laryngology and Otology, 107(12), 1993, pp. 1129-1135
Sixteen squamous cell carcinomas of the tonsillar region and 13 carcin
omas of the base of the tongue were studied in a search for significan
t differences between the tumours of these two oropharyngeal subsites,
which are known to carry a significantly different prognosis. The cha
racteristics of the tumour cells and the tumour-host relationship were
scored on H & E-stained slides, as well as on slides stained with a p
anel of antibodies. The results obtained were cross-tabulated and anal
ysed with respect to the subsite. Ten variables were tested: cytonucle
ar pleomorphism, mitotic activity, the presence of atypical mitoses, k
eratinization, tumour grade, presence of eosinophils, severity of infl
ammatory response, and the expression of keratin-10, blood group antig
ens and collagen IV. When split up by site, only cytonuclear pleomorph
ism revealed a significant difference, tonsillar carcinomas more often
exhibiting marked pleomorphisni (p = 0.04). Despite having some progn
ostic relevance for squamous cell carcinomas of the head and neck, the
variables tested could not provide an explanation for the difference
in biological behaviour of the tumours studied.