Pathological classification of nasopharyngeal carcinoma

Nasopharyngeal carcinoma is a malignant tumor with a high incidence in southern my country, and ranks first among malignant tumors in the otorhinolaryngology department. Nasopharyngeal carcinoma is mostly a malignant tumor with a low degree of differentiation. It can be divided into the following types according to its pathological manifestations:

Squamous cell carcinoma

Most nasopharyngeal carcinomas are squamous cell carcinomas. Microscopically, the proliferating epithelium breaks through the basement membrane and infiltrates into the deep layer to form irregular cancer nests. In well-differentiated cases, the outer layer of the cancer nests is composed of cells equivalent to the basal layer, and the inner layer is composed of cells equivalent to the spinous cell layer. Intercellular bridges can also be seen.

Adenocarcinoma

Compared with squamous cell carcinoma, nasopharyngeal adenocarcinoma is quite rare. It is generally well differentiated, forming glandular structures of varying sizes, irregular shapes, and chaotic arrangement under the microscope. Cancer cells are irregularly arranged in multiple layers. They often break through the basement membrane to form infiltration.

Vesicular cell carcinoma

As the name implies, most cancer cells in this type have vacuolated nuclei. Because of its special morphology and good prognosis after radiotherapy, it is an independent type. The so-called vacuolated nucleus means that the nucleus is large and round or oval or spindle-shaped. The nuclear area is more than three times that of lymphocytes. The chromatin in the nucleus is relatively scarce, making the nucleus vacuolated; the chromatin is unevenly attached to the inner surface of the nuclear membrane, making it unevenly thick, and the thin parts even resemble nuclear membrane defects.

Undifferentiated carcinoma

In this type, cancer cells are diffusely distributed and often mixed with stroma. The cells are medium or small in size, short spindle-shaped, oval or irregular in shape, with little cytoplasm and slightly basophilic. The nuclear chromatin is increased, granular or lumpy, and nucleoli are sometimes visible.