Epidermotropic cutaneous metastases from hypopharyngeal carcinoma.

Cutaneous metastases from laryngeal and hypopharyngeal squamous carcinomas are extremely rare. A high index of clinical suspicion, supplemented with histopathologic evidence, aids in the diagnosis. The prognosis is extremely poor, and treatment is aimed only at palliation of symptoms and improving quality of life.

Hemangioma of base of tongue.

Although vascular malformations of the tongue comprise a significant portion of head and neck angiodysplastic lesions, hemangioma of base of tongue is rare. We report a case of hemangioma of base of tongue extending to the supraglottis, which necessitated an extended supraglottic laryngectomy. Patient had an uneventful recovery and at three year, follow-up has a normal speech and no difficulty in swallowing or aspiration.

Transventricular paraganglioma of the larynx.

Laryngeal paragangliomas are rare neuroendocrine tumours. Most laryngeal paragangliomas are supraglottic in location, with only 3% reported to be glottic in location. We present a rare case of transventricular paraganglioma with fixation of the hemilarynx that presented a diagnostic and therapeutic challenge.

Atypical distant metastases from hypopharyngeal cancer.

Hypopharyngeal squamous carcinoma is an aggressive disease with a high frequency of local and distant spread. Distant metastasis is seen more often now because of better loco-regional control due to more aggressive multimodal therapy. This article reports two cases of unusual metastatic disease from squamous carcinoma of pyriform sinus and reviews the metastatic disease in hypopharyngeal squamous cancers.

Expression of bcl-2 and bax in chewing tobacco-induced oral cancers and oral lesions from India.

Deregulation of oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes involved in apoptosis has been associated with tumor development and progression. To investigate the involvement of apoptosis regulating proteins in oral cancer in Indian patients, primarily associated with chewing tobacco habits, immunohistochemical expression of bcl-2 and bax was examined in 63 oral squamous cell carcinomas, and 31 putative premalignant lesions. Our studies revealed overexpression of tumor specific cytoplasmic bcl-2 in 56% and bax in 43% oral cancers.