[Cytokeratin antigen expression in lymph nodes--prognostic significance of clinical features of the primary tumor and lymph nodes in the presence of micrometastases in laryngeal carcinoma].

Lymph node micrometastases in patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the larynx found node-negative by conventional histology may be discovered by immunohistochemistry, particularly by using mono- and policlonal antibodies which are reactive with epithelial cells. Then tumors classified as pN0 by routine methods may be reclassified more correctly as pN1. Authors investigated the incidence of micrometastases in the neck dissection specimens originally staged as pN0 from 22 patients with laryngeal cancer treated surgically at ENT Department Medical University of Lodz between 1998-1999 according to: the survival, using immunostaining with panel of mono- and policlonal antibodies to cytokeratins CK1, CK4, CK5, CK6, CK8, CK10, CK13 and CK18. The relationship between micro-metastases and clinical features of primary tumor and lymph nodes has been discussed.