[Clinico-pathologic studies on 143 cases of tonsillar malignancies with special reference to lymphomas]

143 cases of tonsillar malignancies consulted or treated in our hospital during the past 33 years (1958-1991) were studied morphologically and histochemically. There were 126 non-Hodgkin's lymphomas (NHL), 14 squamous cell carcinomas and one each of mucoepidermoid carcinoma, malignant melanoma and histiocytic lymphoma. The results showed that: 1. The ratio of peripheral T-cell and B-cell lymphoma was high (2.08:1), of which the reason is unexplained, 2. Many tonsillar NHLs had been misdiagnosed as undifferentiated carcinomas, poorly differentiated carcinomas or reticular cell sarcomas in the past, and 3. Most of the B-cell lymphomas belong to the high grade malignant large cell lymphomas, like the large non-cleaved and immunoblastic type. These findings are different from what is generally believed and known.