Publication:

Tumor associated tissue eosinophilia: a case report with review

Cancer is one of the most deadly diseases. Even today a lot of research is going on to understand the various aspects of this neoplasm in order to improve the treatment modalities and thus the life of the affected. The role of tumor associated tissue eosinophilia (TATE) has gained much impetus as it is believed to play important role in the biological behavior of the tumor. There are contradictory reports with respect to malignancy and hence its functional role remains ambiguous. We report a case of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) with TATE and review of literature of the same. A 58 year old female patient presented with a shallow ulcer on the palate. On clinical examination, left submandibular lymph nodes were enlarged and tender on palpation with slightly raised surface temperature. Fine needle aspiration cytology from submandibular lymph nodes was suggestive of squamous cell carcinoma. Incisional biopsy from ulcer confirmed the diagnosis of moderately differentiated squamous cell carcinoma, with the striking feature of tissue eosinophilia. Haematological investigations revealed differential & absolute eosinophil count which was not significant. The review of literature revealed contradictory findings with respect to TATE as a prognostic factor in OSCC patients. It has been found to have a favourable, a poorer or even no influence on patient’s outcome, thus remaining a matter of controversy.