Intratumoral lymphatic vessel density as a predictor of progression-free and overall survival in locally advanced laryngeal/hypopharyngeal cancer

• Published in: Head & neck Vol. 38; no. S1; pp. E417 - E420
• Main Authors: Hurst Jr, Newton J., Dominello, Michael, Dyson, Gregory, Jaratli, Hayan, Sharma, Meenu, Ahmed, Yasin K., Melkane, Antoine E., Rose, Christopher, Jacobs, John, Giorgadze, Tamar, Kim, Harold
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01-04-2016
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; D2-40; Disease-Free Survival; Female; Humans; Hypopharyngeal Neoplasms - diagnosis; immunohistochemistry; Laryngeal Neoplasms - diagnosis; laryngeal/hypopharyngeal cancer; Lymphangiogenesis; lymphatic vessel density; Lymphatic Vessels; Male; Middle Aged; Prognosis; lymphatic vessel density; immunohistochemistry; laryngeal/hypopharyngeal cancer; prognosis; D2-40
• ISSN: 1043-3074; 1097-0347
• DOI: 10.1002/hed.24011

Background
Lymphatic vessel density (LVD) has been shown to be an important predictor of survival in head and neck cancers. We report the predictive value of LVD for progression‐free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) in laryngeal/hypopharyngeal cancer.
Methods
Fifty‐five untreated patients with T3/T4 laryngeal and T4 hypopharyngeal cancer underwent laryngectomy between 1999 and 2010. Surgical specimens were immunostained with D2‐40, a specific lymphatic marker. LVDs were determined in tumor vessel “hot spots.” Recursive partitioning analysis identified LVD thresholds for both peritumoral (LVDpt) and intratumoral (LVDit) vessels for association with PFS and OS.
Results
Patients with mean LVDit of <11 vessels/mm2 had 2‐year PFS and OS rates of 58% and 65%, respectively, compared to 13% and 13% for those with LVDit ≥11 vessels/mm2 (p = .06 and .04, respectively).
Conclusion
Intratumoral lymphatic vessel density is predictive of PFS and OS in locally advanced laryngeal/hypopharyngeal cancer. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Head Neck 38: E417–E420, 2016