Pathology of the Head and Neck

Nasopharynx and Waldeyer’s Ring Chapter 6 181abcdefFig. 6.5. Non-keratinizing nasopharyngeal carcinoma. a–b Nasopharyngealcarcinoma grows in solid sheets of large epithelialcells which are clearly demarcated by a mixed inflammatory infiltrateconsisting of lymphocytes, plasma cells and histiocytes.c globular amyloid deposition is not uncommon. d–e Non-keratinizingnasopharyngeal carcinoma can be heavily infiltrated bythe lymphocytes. f Tumour cells are large, undifferentiated, withabundant pale cytoplasms, inconspicuous cell membranes, andlarge nuclei with prominent nucleolimay be present. Small amyloid globules can be foundwithin the tumour cells or scattered among the carcinomatousstroma. Epithelioid granulomas, occasionallywith caseous necrosis, have been described in nasopharyngealcarcinoma in up to 18% of cases. Some featuresare associated with a better prognosis of nasopharyngealcarcinoma: high density of dendritic cells, highnumber of infiltrating lymphocytes, and low numbersof granzyme-B positive cytotoxic cells [58, 80, 151, 208].The most reliable and sensitive method of detection of