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Updated: May 17, 2026
A Model for Perineural Invasion in Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma
Published on: January 5, 2017
Neuroendocrine differentiation in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma
V H Schartinger1, C Falkeis, K Laimer
1Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Medical University Innsbruck, Austria. volker.schartinger@i-med.ac.at
Objective:
Tumours with neuroendocrine differentiation frequently express chromogranin A, synaptophysin and somatostatin receptors. The role of neuroendocrine differentiation in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma is not yet clear.
Method:
The presence of chromogranin A, synaptophysin and somatostatin receptors was studied immunohistochemically in 78 head and neck squamous cell carcinoma specimens.
Results:
Sparse chromogranin A expression was found in 41 per cent, associated with high chromogranin A messenger RNA expression and the presence of dense core granules. Low synaptophysin expression was found in 18 per cent. The highest staining scores were found for somatostatin receptor 5 (82 per cent), followed by somatostatin receptor 1 (69 per cent) and somatostatin receptor 2 (54 per cent), whereas somatostatin receptors 3 and 4 expression was low. Expression was not correlated with tumour stage or survival.
Conclusion:
Cells with neuroendocrine differentiation are sparsely scattered in some head and neck squamous cell carcinomas. Their pathophysiological role is elusive. In contrast, somatostatin receptor and particularly somatostatin receptor 5 expression is frequent in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. Somatostatin receptor expression is not considered to indicate neuroendocrine differentiation in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.
