Successful detection of a minute tonsillar cancer lesion on transoral examination with narrow band imaging: A report of 2 cases

Background The improvement of optical enhancement devices, such as narrow band imaging (NBI), has enabled us to visualize lesions that cannot be seen upon macroscopic examination. NBI is useful for detecting subtle lesions, including the primary sites of occult primary cancer. Methods and Results We describe 2 cases of tiny tonsillar cancer with positive p16 staining. Case 1 was as an occult primary cancer, and case 2 had a foreign body sensation of the pharynx. With transoral examination using a flexible video‐laryngoscope with NBI, we successfully detected tonsillar cancer. These patients were treated with surgery, and the patients are currently alive with no evidence of disease more than 1 year posttreatment. Conclusion We detected a small primary lesion in the palatine tonsil through transoral examination with NBI, which is a simple and noninvasive method. This approach may be useful to detect subtle lesions, especially in patients with human papillomavirus (HPV)‐related tonsillar cancer. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Head Neck 38: E2421–E2424, 2016