Intramuscular hemangiomas are unusual tumors in the head and neck region that occur most frequently in the masseter muscle and are often confused with parotid neoplasms. Four cases are described and the literature reviewed. The diagnosis and management of these tumors are discussed in view of the fact that accurate preoperative diagnosis is unusual and tumor recurrence rates high. Increased awareness of the clinical presentation of intramuscular hemangiomas should enhance diagnostic accuracy and facilitate optimal treatment planning.

We characterized the breakpoints, gains, and losses of chromosome material in squamous cell carcinomas of the head and neck region from 29 patients. Cell lines were karyotyped in 1/3 of cases, direct preparations or early in vitro harvests in 1/3, and both in 1/3 of cases. GTG-banding was employed in all cases, as were C-banding and RBG- and AgNOR-staining in most. Some tumors were near-diploid and others near-tetraploid, but many had mixed populations, with diploid, tetraploid, and octoploid subclones representing essentially the same karyotypic pattern. The most frequent changes were deletions. Losses affecting 3p13-p24, 5q12-q23, 8p22-p23, 9p21-p24, and 18q22-q23 ranged in frequency from 40% to 60% of tumors. Loss of the short arm of the inactive X occurred in 70% of tumors from female patients, and loss or rearrangement of the Y occurred in 74% of tumors from male patients. Loss of 18q appeared to be associated with short survival, as did the presence of multiple deletions. There was gain (2-5 extra copies) of 3q21-qter, 5p, 7p, 8q, and 11q13-q23 in 28-38% of tumors. Three tumors had an hsr involving 11q13-q21. Gain of material at 11q13 is postulated to be associated with amplification of the PRADI/CCND gene at that locus. A translocation between proximal 1p and either an acrocentric short arm or proximal 8p or 9p was observed in squamous cell carcinomas of the head and neck region but not in female genital tract tumors. No other abnormalities appeared to be site specific, suggesting a pattern of genetic evolution in squamous cell carcinoma that is independent of anatomic site.

No abstract

Carcinoma of the lip is a common variety of head and neck malignancy frequently seen in the elderly Caucasian male. Three hundred and fifty consecutive cases of invasive squamous cell carcinoma of the lip are anlayzed and the treatment methods and their results are presented. Surgical management is recommended for most patients because of the advantage of tumor margin assessment, avoidance of radiotherapy complications, and rapid rehabilitation.

No abstract

Primary small cell carcinoma of the larynx is a rare malignancy with a dismal prognosis. A survey of the long‐term follow‐up from reported cases of small cell carcinoma of the larynx and a review of the recent experience with this tumor at the University of Michigan Hospitals was undertaken to determine if newer treatment approaches incorporating adjuvant chemotherapy were associated with prolonged survival. Median survival for those patients receiving adjuvant chemotherapy was 19 months compared to 11 months for patients treated with surgery and/or radiation therapy alone. Among patients treated initially with primary radiation therapy and adjuvant chemotherapy median survival was 55 months, which was significantly longer than any other treatment regimen (P=0.02). Systemic chemotherapy and therapeutic irradiation appears to offer the least disabling and most efficacious form of current therapy.

Considerable debate has taken place concerning cutaneous basosquamous carcinomas. Some authors believe they are merely a variant of basal cell carcinoma, based on the apparent rare occurrence of metastases. This comparative study of 33 cases of basosquamous, 1, 7% cases of basal cell, and 736 cases of squamous carcinomas arising in the head and neck demonstrates that the basosquamous lesion has the potential to recur and to metastasize, which is similar to squamous cell lesions. An aggressive primary treatment program is recommended.

of the parotid gland warrant consideration because of the potential for facial nerve injury occurring with surgical treatment and the risk of malignant conversion. Forty-eight cases of recurrent pleomorphic adenoma treated at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, between 1935 and 1975 were retrospectively analyzed. The results of surgical procedures for recurrence were determined with respect to tumor control and resultant facial nerve function. Malignant conversion developed in three (6%) of 48 cases. The results of this study underscore the importance of adequate surgical excision of initial recurrences as well as primary tumors to prevent tumor recidivism. Tumor control rates and facial nerve preservation are enhanced with formal parotidectomy for recurrent tumor when feasible. In cases in which facial nerve identification and dissection is not possible, en bloc total parotidectomy offers effective, though not absolute, control of extensive recurrence.Advances in surgical techniques -¿A-have markedly diminished the recurrence rate previously associated with surgical excision of pleomorphic adenoma of the parotid gland. Factors responsible for the recurrence of pleo¬ morphic adenoma have received extensive review over the past 50 years. While intraoperative tumor rupture and seeding, tumor multicentricity, metachronous tumor develop¬ ment, and histologie evidence of cap¬ sular penetration or hypercellularity are mentioned as factors possibly related to the development of recur¬ rence, clinical behavior of pleomor¬ phic adenomas is most closely corre¬ lated with the adequacy of surgical treatment. Rates of recurrence follow¬ ing primary surgery for pleomorphic adenoma of the parotid gland have been reported to be as high as 44%, this being attributed to inadequate surgical excision.1 Subsequent reports suggested that formal parotidectomy was associated with lower rates of recurrence than was simple excision,2 and comparisons of large groups treated within the same institution revealed a fourfold greater rate of recurrence from simple excision as compared with formal parotidectomy, whether superficial or total, with facial nerve preservation.3 Recent reports have documented that a surgi¬ cal treatment policy of formal paroti¬ dectomy for primary pleomorphic adenoma leads to recurrence rates that approach zero,46 and many sur¬ geons have adopted this policy. None¬