Objective: Supraglottic carcinomas of larynx tends to metastasize to cervical lymph nodes. The regular pathological method of diagnosis is easy to have the micrometastasis missed, and serial-sectioning is too difficult be used in the regular pathological examinations. The aim of this study was to evaluate the value of immunohistochemical assay in the detection of micrometastasis.
Methods: Monoclonal antibodies against cytokeratin (AE1/AE3) were used to detect the cervical lymph nodes of 46 cases (50 sides of neck) of supraglottic carcinoma with pathologically negative findings (pN0).
Results: Micrometastases were identified in 13 lymph nodes of 11 cases.
Conclusion: It is suggested that the detection of lymph node micrometastases with immunohistochemical method is more sensitive than that of regular pathologic method. It is comparable to serial sectioning. Therefore, It is a valuable clinical method to detect the early lymph node metastasis.