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La region que comprende la cabeza y el cuello consta de muchos órganos, gran variedad de tejidos y diferentes tipos de células en cada órgano y tejido.
Que queremos decir con tumores de “cabeza y cuello” o patología de cabeza y cuello?
- En general: lesiones o tumores de la parte interna de esta región.
- En particular: lesiones de la cavidad nasal, paranasal, nasofaringe, hipofaringe, laringo-traquea, cavidad oral, orofaringe, glandulas salivares relacionadas, odontogénicas y del oído. (WHO 2005)
- Toda lesión que pueda ocurrir en esta area anatómica circunscrita: Ver arriba, +: tumores vasculares, linfomas, tumores de la piel, tumores de anexos cutaneos, lesions de glándulas lacrimales y tiroides.
Qué es característico en la patología tumoral de cabeza y cuello?
- The anatomical region
- There are significant geographical characteristics of some of these lesions (nasopharyngeal carcinoma)
- Environmental influence is important
- Viruses in the development of cancer (HPV, EBV)
- Distant metastases are rare, local complications are severe
Main diagnostic questions
- What kind of tissue was aspirated?
In case the sampling is performed by the cytopathologist the answer is simple. In case of transported smears we always need to know all of the important clinical data, symptoms and the way of sampling.
- What do the general cellular features of the smear tell us? Is it a benign or malignant lesion?
Cystic lesions and fluid containing squamous cells may equally represent a squamous (lateral) cyst or a colliquated necrotic squamous cell carcinoma. Malignancies can be either primary or metastatic. Cellular pleomorphism is characteristic in mixed salivary gland tumors, which are nearly always benign, whereas a slightly atypical homogeneous cell population may be characteristic of acinic cell cancer or even adenoid cystic carcinoma.