[Prognostic significance of histo-clinical lympho node features in patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the larynx].

Squamous-cell carcinoma of the larynx tends to metastasize frequently to cervical lymph nodes. In advanced laryngeal cancer, the status of neck nodes is of major importance for treatment selection and is the single most significant determinant of patient outcome. On the other hand, the presence of extracapsular spread of metastases as well as activated immunologic response in regional lymph nodes in laryngeal cancer and correlation with prognosis are still debatable. The authors presented the prognostic value of some selected clinical and morphological parameters of removed neck lymph nodes in patients with squamous-cell carcinoma of the larynx. The relationship has been discussed between N stage, cervical metastases, extracapsular spread and nodal reactivity, and the long-term survival rate and risk of death before 5 years. This study's findings support the concept that an active immunologic response classified histologically as lymphocyte predominance, germinal center hyperplasia and sinus histiocytosis has positive prognostic significance in squamous-cell carcinoma of the larynx. The presence of extracapsular spread from regional lymph nodes was not found to be a prognostic indicator of survival.