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Micrometastases from squamous cell carcinoma in neck dissection specimens

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Summary

The incidence of micrometastases in cervical lymph nodes from squamous cell carcinomas of the head and neck was studied using routine histopathological examination. Micrometastases were found in 66 lymph nodes in 41 of the 92 tumor-positive neck dissection specimens. The detection of these micrometastases influenced postoperative treatment in 3 of the 77 patients with neck node metastases. The value of additional sectioning for detecting micrometastases was thus assessed. Sectioning at a deeper level in 600 originally histopathologically negative lymph nodes from 64 patients revealed 7 additional micrometastases in 5 patients. Antikeratin staining with a mixture of two monoclonal antibodies (AE1 and AE3) revealed 4 micrometastases in 739 originally histopathologically negative lymph nodes in 3 of 13 patients studied. Because of the unknown prognostic significance of micrometastases and the consequent arbitrary consequences for postoperative treatment, present findings show that the extra workload of immunostaining and deeper sectioning does not warrant their routine use in clinical practise.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Otorhinolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, Free University Hospital, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

    M. W. M. van den Brekell & G. B. Snow

  2. Department Pathology, Free University Hospital, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

    H. V. Stele, P. van der Valk & C. J. L. M. Meyer

  3. Department of Oral Pathology, Free University Hospital, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

    I. van der Waal

Authors
  1. M. W. M. van den Brekell
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  2. H. V. Stele
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  3. P. van der Valk
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  4. I. van der Waal
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  5. C. J. L. M. Meyer
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  6. G. B. Snow
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van den Brekell, M.W.M., Stele, H.V., van der Valk, P. et al. Micrometastases from squamous cell carcinoma in neck dissection specimens. Eur Arch Otorhinolaryngol 249, 349–353 (1992). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00179388

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00179388

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