Prognostic value of histopathological parameters in 51 supraglottic squamous cell carcinomas

The prognosis for supraglottic squamous cell carcinomas is difficult to establish. A study of 19 histopathological parameters (14 from the primary tumor and 5 from the lymph node metastases) was undertaken in 51 supraglottic epidermoid carcinomas. All patients were subjected to supraglottic horizontal laryngectomy with bilateral functional neck dissection and postoperative radiotherapy. A discriminant analysis was performed to relate the different histopathological variables to 5-year survival. Capsule rupture and the number of metastatic lymph nodes were the only two parameters significantly related to survival (P < .01). Histopathology (in particular, lymph node metastases) proved more effective in predicting patient evolution than TNM staging.