Evaluation of microvascular density in inflammatory lesions and carcinoma of palatine tonsil.

The tonsil carcinoma with squamous cells seems to be one of the neoplastic lesions with a growing incidence worldwide, even in those geographical areas where the smoking incidence has been reduced. In the disease etiopathogenesis, more factors are incriminated. Among these, the most frequently mentioned are smoking, alcohol consumption and the infection with the Human Papilloma Virus. Among the morphological modifications incriminated for the tumoral appearance and development, there is also included the angiogenesis process that involves the apparition of new blood vessels out from the pre-existent ones, vessels that bring a plus of oxygen and nutritive substances for the tumoral cells. Taking into consideration the fact that the tumoral process is most often accompanied by an inflammatory reaction, in our study we also determined the microvascular density in the carcinoma with squamous cells in the palatine tonsil and in chronic tonsillitis, compared to the vascular density in normal tonsil stroma. We quantified the reaction of the mast cells in the stroma of the two types of lesions, too. The microvascular density in the carcinoma with squamous cells in the palatine tonsil was a lot greater than the microvascular density in chronic tonsillitis. The maximum number of blood vessels in tumoral lesions as well as their area, quantified through the "hot spot" technique on the surface unit, was around two times greater than in chronic tonsillitis. The number of mast cells was significantly larger in chronic tonsillitis and in tonsil carcinoma, too, but the reaction of these cells in the inflammatory affections was more intense than in the neoplastic lesions.

Non-Hodgkin lymphomas of Waldeyer's ring.

Lymphomas represent malignant lymphoproliferative diseases and they are generally classified as Hodgkin's (HL) or non-Hodgkin malignant lymphomas (NHML). Head and neck lymphomas represent one of the most common sites of extranodal lymphomas, second after the gastrointestinal tract. Waldeyer's ring structures include the palatine tonsils, the nasopharyngeal lymphatic tissue, and the lingual tonsil. We investigated 38 patients with malignant lymphoma with ages ranging from 21 to 95 years, all localized in the Waldeyer's ring. Good knowledge of the clinical characteristics of these lymphomas and the methods to establish the differential diagnosis are essential for a correct therapy of the disease.