A Case of Fourth Branchial Pouch Sinus / 대한이비인후과학회지

The fourth branchial pouch sinus is a developmental anomaly which most freqently manifests itself by recurrent episodes of neck abscess or acute suppurative thyroiditis. The most common developmental anomalies of the branchial apparatus are second cleft remnant, which constitute almost 95% of all anomalies. The remaining 5% are comprised almost exclusively of first and third arch remnants. So the fourth arch remnants are exceedingly rare. A high index of suspicion, combined with barium swallow pharyngogram and computed tomography scan can aid in diagnosis. Complete excision of the entire epithelial tract combined with ipsilateral thyroid lobectomy remains the mainstay of treatment. Authors experienced a case of lateral neck mass which was pathologically presumed to be the fourth branchial pouch sinus. We report this case with the related literature.

Study on Immunohistochemical Expression of p53, Epidermal Growth Factor and c-erbB-2 in Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Head and Neck / 대한이비인후과학회지

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Cell proliferation and differentiation are regulated by growth factors and growth factor receptors. Inappropriate expressions of growth factors and oncogenes may influence the biological and clinical phenotype of tumor. But there are still controversy regarding their clinical attributions in head and neck cancer. The authors evaluated the prognostic significance of p53 protein, EGF and c-erbB-2 expression in the squamous cell carcinoma of head and neck to determine their relationship with the clinicopathologic parameters. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Paraffin embedded tissue specimen from 64 cases of squamous cell carcinomas of head and neck were studied by immunohistochemical staining. RESULT: p53 protein, EGF and c-erbB-2 were expressed 53.1%, 29.7% and 57.8%, respectively, in 64 cases of head and neck cancer. The positive expression of p53 protein was associated closely with T-stage and clinical stage. This expression was statistically significant(P<0.05). There were no significant relationships between the reactivity of EGF, c-erbB-2 and clinical parameters. CONCLUSION: The expressions of p53 protein, EGF and c-erbB-2 could be related to oncogenesis in squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck. And, the expression of p53 protein can be used as a prognostic factor in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.