Two sites of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma: utility of loss of heterozygosity.
OBJECTIVE
The prevalence of distant metastasis and second primary tumors is increasing with improved locoregional control in patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. Traditionally, clinicopathologic evidence has been the gold standard used to distinguish distant metastasis from second primary tumors. We report a case in which loss of heterozygosity testing was used to clarify the clonal relationship between the 2 sites of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.


METHODS
A patient with squamous cell carcinoma in the larynx and mandible underwent loss of heterozygosity testing.


RESULTS
The loss of heterozygosity testing confirmed that the mandibular cancer was a metastatic presentation of the laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma.


CONCLUSIONS
We conclude that loss of heterozygosity testing can be useful in differentiating distant metastasis from second primary cancers in patients with 2 sites of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, consequently providing important prognostic and staging information.
Sharma
Arun
A
Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213, USA.
Wayne
Sigrid
S
Nikiforova
Marina N
MN
Johnson
Jonas T
JT
Walvekar
Rohan R
RR
D000368:Aged; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000235:genetics* / Q000556:secondary*; D005819:Genetic Markers; D006801:Humans; D007822:Laryngeal Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000235:genetics* / Q000473:pathology*; D019656:Loss of Heterozygosity / Q000235:genetics*; D008297:Male; D008339:Mandibular Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000235:genetics* / Q000556:secondary*; D016609:Neoplasms, Second Primary; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed
D005819:Genetic Markers