Abstract
BackgroundEosinophils are bone marrow-derived granulocytes known to have an imperative role in tissue inflammation. The mechanism of tumour-associated tissue eosinophilia (TATE) in head and neck cancers is however not well understood, and its role as a prognosticator is under evaluation. The aim of this study was to evaluate the association of TATE with factors associated with head and neck cancer and to assess its role as a prognostic marker in such patients.Results102 males and 24 females comprised the study population, and 34.9% of which were in the age group of 41 to 50 years. Amongst these 126 patients, most (37.3%) presented in stage III followed by stage IV (28.6%). 29.4% had well-differentiated SCC, 55.6% had moderately differentiated SCC, and 15% were diagnosed with poorly differentiated SCC. 42.8% had TATE grade II, followed by grade III (29.4%) and grade I (27.8%). Correlation studies showed that factors significantly associated with TATE were age, site and tumour differentiation. While 45.7% poorly differentiated tumours showed grade I eosinophilia, 51.4% of well-differentiated tumours had grade III TATE.ConclusionsTATE showed a highly significant association with tumour differentiation, suggestive of eosinophils partaking a tumouricidal role. This association may be utilised as a convenient early prognosticator for head and neck cancers and should be made a regular feature of biopsy reports. Furthermore, it may be utilised in planning and adopting appropriate treatment modalities in malignancies predicted to have an aggressive course.
Highlights
Eosinophils are bone marrow-derived granulocytes known to have an imperative role in tissue inflammation
Eosinophils are derivatives of the bone marrow characterised by the existence of specific granules containing cationic proteins which are intensely stained by eosin
It has been long hypothesised that eosinophils have tumouricidal action by releasing cytotoxic proteins, interleukins (IL) and cytokines which affect the permeability of the malignant cells
Summary
Eosinophils are bone marrow-derived granulocytes known to have an imperative role in tissue inflammation. The mechanism of tumour-associated tissue eosinophilia (TATE) in head and neck cancers is not well understood, and its role as a prognosticator is under evaluation. Males belonging to 40–60 years of age are affected more significantly than females. It usually begins in the squamous cells lining the mucosal surfaces. Tumour-associated tissue eosinophilia (TATE) was foremost described precisely by Przewoski in cervical cancer in 1896 and was characterised by infiltration of Sharma et al The Egyptian Journal of Otolaryngology (2021) 37:89 eosinophils as peritumoural and intratumoural infiltrates. Eosinophils are derivatives of the bone marrow characterised by the existence of specific granules containing cationic proteins which are intensely stained by eosin. After receiving an appropriate stimulus from the tumour antigen, eosinophils release several mediators such as IL-1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10, 12, 13, and 18; interferon-γ; transforming growth factor-α and β; eosinophil cationic protein; major basic protein; eosinophil peroxidase; eosinophil-derived neurotoxin; and tumour necrosis factor [3,4,5]
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