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The detection of clinically occult nasopharyngeal carcinoma in patients following radiotherapy – an analysis of 69 patients

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 June 2007

John M. Nicholls ,
Daniel Chua ,
Pui Man Chiu  and
Dora L. W. Kwong
John M. Nicholls*
Affiliation:
Department of Pathology, The University of Hong Kong, Queen Mary Hospital Compound, Pok Fu Lam, Hong Kong.
Daniel Chua
Affiliation:
Department of Radiation Oncology, The University of Hong Kong, Queen Mary Hospital Compound, Pok Fu Lam, Hong Kong
Pui Man Chiu
Affiliation:
Department of Pathology, The University of Hong Kong, Queen Mary Hospital Compound, Pok Fu Lam, Hong Kong.
Dora L. W. Kwong
Affiliation:
Department of Radiation Oncology, The University of Hong Kong, Queen Mary Hospital Compound, Pok Fu Lam, Hong Kong
*
Address for correspondence: Dr J. Nicholls, Department of Pathology, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong. Fax: (852) 28725197
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Abstract

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A prospective analysis of 69 patients who had been treated for nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) by external radiotherapy was carried out. Biopsies from the posterior nasopharynx were performed and analyzed by in situ hybridization using an antisense Epstein-Barr Early RNA (EBER) radio-labelled riboprobe. None of the patients had evidence of disease in the nasopharynx. One patient was found to have nasopharyngeal carcinoma detected only by in situ hybridization. In the subsequent 18-month follow-up of these clinically- and biopsynegative patients, only one patient developed relapse in the nasopharynx. In situ hybridization is a valuable tool for the detection of NPC and should be routinely available in histopathology laboratories where NPC is regularly diagnosed.

Keywords

Nasopharyngeal neoplasmsCarcinomaRadiotherapy
Type
Pathology in Focus
Information
The Journal of Laryngology & Otology , Volume 110 , Issue 5 , May 1996 , pp. 496 - 499
Copyright
Copyright © JLO (1984) Limited 1996

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