Retrospective study outlines a four-tier histopathological framework for radiation-induced muscle damage in hypopharyngeal cancer, providing morphological patterns to assess tissue injury.
Key Points
To establish a practical descriptive histopathological framework to evaluate radiotherapy-related muscle injury in salvage surgical specimens from patients with hypopharyngeal cancer.
Retrospectively analyzed anterior cervical muscle specimens obtained during salvage total pharyngolaryngectomy from 13 irradiated patients and 2 non-irradiated controls.
Two head and neck surgeons and a board-certified pathologist independently reviewed hematoxylin and eosin–stained sections blinded to clinical information and treatment exposure to establish a four-tier semiquantitative framework.
Irradiated muscle specimens demonstrated a broad spectrum of morphologic abnormalities, progressing from myofiber swelling and atrophy to rupture, fibrosis, necrosis, and dense scarring.
Non-irradiated control specimens maintained normal and preserved muscle tissue architecture.