Squamous cell carcinoma with sarcomatoid stroma

Abstract

Two cases of squamous cell carcinoma with sarcomatoid stroma are presented. One tumor was located in the soft palate that metastasized to a neck lymph node; the epithelial and the spindle cell component of the tumor at the primary as well as at the metastatic site showed ultrastructural features of squamous cell carcinoma. The other case, a laryngeal tumor with spindle cell stroma, was shown by ultrastructural studies to be composed of proliferating fibroblasts. The diagnostic problems and the controversies regarding classification and behavior of these rare tumors of upper respiratory tract and upper gastrointestinal tract are discussed.