SULCUS VOCALIS IN LARYNGEAL-CANCER - A HISTOPATHOLOGIC STUDY

The incidental finding of sulcus vocalis in surgical specimens of pati ents with laryngeal cancer prompted this review. Sulcus deformities we re histologically identified in 28 (48%) of 58 whole-mount coronal ser ial-sectioned laryngeal specimens procured from laryngeal cancer patie nts. The lesions were analyzed, described, and graded. A control group of 20 larynges, obtained from autopsies of patients without known lar yngeal pathology, were similarly processed, and whole-mount histologic sections were studied. Four of these specimens (20%) also demonstrate d sulcus deformities. In the control group, the shape and location of the sulci were similar, but the lesions were smaller than in the cance r group. The sulcus lesions revealed chronic inflammation of the subep ithelial tissues with vascular ingrowth and fibrosis of the superficia l lamina propria (Reinke's space); in the cancer group the sulcus was usually on the opposite vocal fold, where irritation from the tumor mi ght be anticipated. Although the etiology of the sulci remains controv ersial, these findings suggest that irritation and inflammation might play a role in the pathogenesis of sulcus vocalis.