Abstract
The authors treated 38 patients with malignancies of the tonsil by irradiation during the period 1974 to 1979 at the Jikei University Hospital. However, the definitive pathological diagnosis of the malignancy had been confirmed from small pre-irradiation biopsy specimens in only 9 cases.
Repeated biopsies were required in some cases, together with the removal of adjacent lymph nodes for confirmation of the diagnosis. Irradiation had to be started before obtaining a conclusive diagnosis in the cases with swallowing or respiratory distress.
In Japan, 70 percent of malignancies of the tonsil are malignant lymphoma where diagnosis is often difficult because of concurrent inflammation of the tonsil.
The authors concluded that cooperation of the otolaryngologist, radiotherapist, medical oncologist and pathologist is essential in order to improve the accurary of pathological diagnosis and the results of subsequent treatments.
