Follicular dendritic cell tumour of the cervical lymph node: case report and brief review of literature.

Follicular dendritic cell tumour/sarcoma is a rare tumour involving lymph-node or extra-lymph-node sites; review of the literature reveals very few cases of follicular dendritic cell tumour, probably since, in the past, the disease has often been mistaken for other neoplasms: low differentiated carcinomas and fusate cell carcinomas, sarcomas, melanomas, thymic neoplasms, Castle carcinoma and other dendritic cell tumours (especially interdigital cell tumour/sarcoma). In the case described here, attention is focused on the diagnostic difficulties and on the therapeutic profile, comparing data with those reported in the international literature.

[Surgical treatment of neck lymph nodes in squamous cell carcinoma of the pyriform sinus]. / Il trattamento chirurgico dei linfonodi del collo nel carcinoma squamocellulare del seno piriforme.

The present study reports the results of 66 patients surgically treated for squamous cell carcinoma of the pyriform sinus between 1984 and 1996. Twenty eight patients underwent mono!ateral neck dissection and bilateral neck dissection was performed in 38 cases, for a total of 104 radical neck dissections. Of these, 73 (71%) were modified type III dissections, 17 (16%) were classical, and 14 (13%) were modified type I and II dissections. The primary lesion was strictly lateralized in 47 cases (71%), while median structures were involved in 19 patients. The primary tumor was staged pT1 in 2 patients, pT2 in 29, pT3 in 19, and pT4 in 16. The overall incidence of lymph node metastases was 79% (9 pN1, 3 pN2a, 33 pN2b, 7 pN2c) which was not correlated with T stage (50% pT1, 72% pT2, 89% pT3, 81% pT4). Occult nodal metastases were present in 42% of cases (8/19) with an incidence that increased from 11% (1/9) for pT1-2 to 70% for pT3-4 (7/10). The bilateral metastases (11%) were uniformly distributed between strictly lateral neoplasms and those tumors involving the midline. The incidence of bilateral metastases reached 19% only in patients with T4 cancers. Occult controlateral metastases were found in 12% of patients not having clinical evidence of metastases on the contro-lateral side of neck dissection (4/33). Nodal metastases never involved the I and V levels. Our data did not permit an assessment of the incidence of retropharyngeal lymph node metastases. In view of these results and considering current knowledge of the anatomy of lymphatic drainage, a selective II-IV dissection extending to the level VI on the side of the tumor appears justified in cases clinically staged as NO. In our view, when the lesion involves the posterior wall of the pharynx, neck dissection should be extended to the lateral retropharyngeal lymph nodes. Selective dissection of the controlateral side of the neck should be performed in patients having either locally advanced primary lesions or with lesions approaching the midline. In the presence of metastases which are either clinically or intraoperatively evident, neck dissection should be extended to additional lymph node levels.

Granular cell tumor of the hypopharynx treated by endoscopic CO(2) laser excision: report of two cases.

BACKGROUND: Granular cell tumor (GCT), or Abrikossoff's tumor, is an unusual lesion probably arising from Schwann cells. It is frequently found in the head and neck region, where the tongue is the most commonly affected site. Involvement of the hypopharynx is exceedingly rare because, to the best of our knowledge, only four cases have been reported in the literature. METHODS: We describe hypopharyngeal GCT in two women aged 29 and 52 years, respectively. RESULTS: In the first patient, preoperative diagnostic examination, including endoscopy, CT, and MRI scan, was suggestive of a benign lesion arising from the posterior wall of the hypopharynx. In the second patient, a previous biopsy of the postcricoid area performed elsewhere suggested a diagnosis of well-differentiated squamous cell carcinoma, and CT scan staged the lesion as T1 N0. In both cases, treatment included surgical excision under microlaryngoscopy with CO(2) laser. The histopathologic study of the specimens, supported by immunohistochemical techniques, determined the lesions to be a GCT. The postoperative course was uneventful, and the patients were discharged 12 and 2 days after surgery, respectively. Both patients were asymptomatic without evidence of recurrence when last seen 2 years and 4 months after surgery, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: GCT should be included in the differential diagnosis of submucosal hypopharyngeal lesions. Endoscopy and radiologic imaging do not display any typical finding suggestive of the diagnosis, which can be based only on histologic findings. Resection of the tumor, when technically feasible, should be performed under microlaryngoscopy with the CO(2) laser, which makes it possible to work in a bloodless field with minimal thermal damage and reduction of scarring and postoperative edema.