title: Probabilities of identifying a micrometastasis in a cervical lymph node from laryngeal cancer. A stereometric approach.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Lymph node micrometastases are important for prognosis and treatment. Their identification in neck dissection specimens with large numbers of nodes is a matter of chance unless serial sectioning or step sectioning at intervals of 200 μm is used, a method which is impractical.
  
  
  METHODS
  For a case of squamous cell laryngeal carcinoma where a micrometastasis was found in one of the lymph nodes, we performed a stereometric analysis of the probability of identifying the lesion.
  
  
  RESULTS
  One section at a depth of 100 μm from the surface of each bisected lymph node revealed a micrometastasis, with a range of conditional probability of 75-98%.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Serial sectioning of all excised nodes is unrealistic for routine practice. Knowing the probability of actually identifying a micrometastasis could be important additional information for the clinician and the management of the patient. By performing three sections, the probability of missing a micrometastasis within a normally appearing node would be 2-25%.
authors.affiliation: Second ENT Department, Attikon University Hospital, Athens, Greece. delidis@athens-orl.gr
authors.forename: Alexander
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Delides
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Maniadakis
authors.forename: Eustathios
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Stathopoulos
mesh_terms: D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D002574:Cervical Vertebrae / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery; D006801:Humans; D007822:Laryngeal Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery; D008198:Lymph Nodes / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis / Q000473:pathology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D037981:Neck Dissection; D061206:Neoplasm Micrometastasis / Q000473:pathology*; D011336:Probability; D013194:Staining and Labeling
keywords: Micrometastasis; head and neck cancer; laryngeal cancer; lymph node; probability