LECTIN HISTOCHEMISTRY OF LARYNGEAL SQUAMOUS-CELL CARCINOMAS

A panel of five biotinylated lectins was applied to study the presence and distribution of membrane carbohydrate residues in the normal lary ngeal epithelium and in laryngeal squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs) of 8 6 patients with the avidin-biotin peroxidase complex technique. The le ctin-binding pattern of well-differentiated SCCs was comparable to tha t of the spinous cells of the normal laryngeal epithelium. In the less differentiated SCCs, staining of the keratinocyte plasma membrane wit h lectins was either reduced or absent, indicating a decline in the gl ycosylation of cell surface glycoconjugates, The lectins applied here could be used in the rapid assessment of less-differentiated areas wit hin a laryngeal SCC, but they cannot be regarded as reliable markers o f laryngeal keratinocytes undergoing malignant transformation.