The impact of histopathology on prognosis of squamous cell carcinoma of the larynx : can we do better?

Zidar, Nina (author), Thompson, Lester D. R. (author), Agaimy, Abbas (author), Stenman, Göran (author), Hellquist, Henrik (author), Nadal, Alfons (author), Mäkitie, Antti A. (author), López, Fernando (author), Strojan, Primož (author), Ferlito, Alfio (author)

Despite decades of progress, laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) is still associated with significant morbidity and mortality worldwide. Additional biomarkers are needed to apply precision medicine and predict the clinical course. We reviewed and summarised routinely reported histopathologic features (e.g. subtypes of laryngeal SCC) along with promising potential biomarkers not yet routinely assessed using international guidelines. These include extra- vs intratumoural vascular and perineural invasion, tumour budding, depth of invasion, and tumour-infiltrating lymphocytes. We also address the problem of specimen quality and type (open approach vs endoscopic surgery) and the related limitations. High-risk human papillomavirus infection is another controversial issue to be discussed, being rare in laryngeal SCC, with an indeterminate prognostic significance and less reliable p16 overexpression as a surrogate marker of HPV infection. Further studies are warranted to address the applicability and to see which of the described parameters may help to better stratify patients with laryngeal SCC and should therefore be included in the pathology report.

• Language: English
• Keywords: larynx, biomarkers, disease progression, human papillomavirus, lymphocytes, tumour-infiltrating, morbidity, precision medicine, prognosis, squamous cell carcinoma
• Work type: Article
• Typology: 1.02 - Review Article
• Organization: MF - Faculty of Medicine
• Publication status: Published
• Publication version: Version of Record
• Year: 2025
• Number of pages: Str. 13–32
• Numbering: Vol. 487, iss. 1
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-178430
• UDC: 616-006
• ISSN on article: 0945-6317
• DOI: 10.1007/s00428-025-04082-w
• COBISS.SI-ID: 232364035
• Publication date in RUL: 27.01.2026

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: Virchows archiv
• Shortened title: Virchows arch.
• Publisher: Springer Nature
• ISSN: 0945-6317
• COBISS.SI-ID: 7571161

Licences

• License: CC BY 4.0, Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
• Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
• Description: This is the standard Creative Commons license that gives others maximum freedom to do what they want with the work as long as they credit the author.

Secondary language

• Language: Slovenian
• Keywords: larinks, grlo, biološki označevalci, napredovanje bolezni, humani papiloma virus, HPV, limfociti, infiltracija tumorja, obolevnost, precizna medicina, ploščatocelični karcinom

Projects

• Funder: ARIS - Slovenian Research and Innovation Agency
• Project number: P3-0054
• Name: Patologija in molekularna genetika