[Histopathologic study on the anterosuperior spreading of supraglottic carcinoma]

Pathologic characteristic of supraglottic carcinoma spreading anterosuperiorly in 100 cases was investigated by whole-organ sections of the larynx. The results showed that 75% of supraglottic carcinomas were found to spread anterosuperiorly. In these cases, carcinoma in the epiglottis-ventricular fold accounted for 90%; epiglottic carcinoma 81.8%; and carcinoma in the ventricular fold 33.3%. Carcinoma in the aryepiglottic fold and arytenoid region was not noted to spread anterosuperiorly. In the cases with anterosuperior spreading of supraglottic carcinoma, the pre-epiglottic space was most commonly involved, which accounted for 60% of the cases; while the lingual surface of the epiglottis 42%; the vallecula 17%; the base of the tongue 12%; and the anterosuperior part of the thyroid cartilage 7%.