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Pathology of Head and Neck Cancer I: Epithelial and Related Tumors

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Head & Neck Cancer: Current Perspectives, Advances, and Challenges

Abstract

Over 90% of head & neck cancers are squamous cell carcinomas. This presents both advantages and challenges to clinicians and researchers. The frequency of squamous cell carcinoma allows most otolaryngologists to become very familiar with range of clinical presentations and current treatment options for this disease. New treatment protocols can be evaluated with a large patient base. Archival material (banked tissues, datasets) facilitates investigations into the molecular basis of these tumors. The wide range of other tumors arising in the head & neck are therefore relatively infrequent, leading to uncertainty in diagnosis, treatment and opportunities for meaningful research.

In this chapter we begin with squamous cell carcinoma and its histologic variants, linking new findings in molecular pathology with conventional and novel prognostic features. We next consider the evaluation of “undifferentiated” tumors of the head & neck. Appropriate classification has important prognostic and therapeutic implications. This leads to a consideration of the spectrum of neuroendocrine tumors. The spectrum of tumors arising in salivary glands is as wide as anywhere in the body. We will provide a framework for understanding the diversity of morphologic appearances, and summarize current prognostic features. We finish the chapter with a review of ameloblastoma, the major odontogenic tumor.

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Abbreviations

ACC:

Adenoid cystic carcinoma

AR:

Androgen receptor

EBV:

Epstein-Barr virus

EMC:

Epithelial-myoepithelial carcinoma

ES:

Ewing’s sarcoma

FISH:

Fluorescence in situ hybridization

HER2:

Human epidermal growth factor receptor-2

HPV:

Human papillomavirus

ITAC:

Intestinal-type adenocarcinoma

LCNC:

Large cell neuroendocrine carcinoma

LOH:

Loss of heterozygosity

MASC:

Mammary analog secretory carcinoma

MEC:

Mucoepidermoid carcinoma

N:C:

Nucleus to cytoplasm ratio

NPC:

Nasopharyngeal carcinoma

ONB:

Olfactory neuroblastoma

PCR:

Polymerase chain reaction

PLGA:

Polymorphous low grade adenocarcinoma

PR:

Progesterone receptor

PNET:

Primitive neuroectodermal tumor

SNUC:

Sinonasal undifferentiated carcinoma

UV:

Ultraviolet

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pathology, Yale University School of Medicine, EP2-611, 20 York St., New Haven, CT, 06510, USA

    G. Kenneth Haines III MD

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  1. G. Kenneth Haines III MD
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Correspondence to G. Kenneth Haines III MD .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. S Paulina St 801, Chicago, 60612, USA

    James A. Radosevich

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Haines, G.K. (2013). Pathology of Head and Neck Cancer I: Epithelial and Related Tumors. In: Radosevich, J. (eds) Head & Neck Cancer: Current Perspectives, Advances, and Challenges. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-5827-8_9

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