Introduction and objectives: It is now generally accepted that angiogenesis is crucial in tumour growth. However, controversy still exists regarding the prognostic significance of angiogenesis in head and neck carcinomas. The aim of this paper is to determine the prognostic significance of angiogenesis in a homogeneously treated group of supraglottic squamous cell carcinomas.
Material and methods: 108 patients surgically treated for squamous cell carcinoma of the supraglottic larynx were studied. Angiogenesis was estimated in the primary tumour and in the nodal metastases by determining microvessel density using the "hot spot" method. Anti-CD34 antibody was used to stain blood vessels.
Results: The mean microvessel density in primary tumours was 72+/-34 vessels/mm(2) and 58.5+/-31.5 vessels/mm(2) in nodal metastases. No correlation was found between microvessel density in the primary tumours and the corresponding nodal metastasis (P=0.195). No significant differences in microvessel density were observed in relation to clinico-pathological parameters or survival (P=0.19).
Conclusions: Our results suggest that microvessel density is not a useful prognostic marker in surgically treated supraglottic squamous cell carcinomas.