Impact of histological tumor grade on the behavior and prognosis of squamous cell carcinoma of the oral cavity.

INTRODUCTION: Unlike other types of cancers, the prognostic value of histological tumor grade is not well determined for oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). This study therefore aimed to evaluate the impact of tumor differentiation on prognosis and overall survival of patients affected by squamous cell carcinoma of the oral cavity. MATERIALS AND METHOD: A retrospective analysis was conducted using the records of patients diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma of the oral cavity between 2010 and 2015. The study included 162 patients treated with a tumorectomy and selective neck dissection. The influence of histological tumor grade on several prognostic factors such as T-Stage, N-stage, recurrence rate, perineural invasion, vascular invasion, surgical margins, and overall survival was analyzed. RESULTS: Histological grade strongly correlated with N-stage, recurrence rate, perineural invasion, vascular invasion, surgical margins, and overall survival. Overall survival was 71.6% in patients with well-differentiated tumors and 43.2% in those with moderately and poorly differentiated tumors. CONCLUSIONS: Histological grade represents an important prognostic factor for OSCC. Therefore, various treatment strategies based on this histological parameter could improve the overall survival rate of patients affected by oral squamous cell carcinoma.

Clinical behavior of T1-T2 squamous cell carcinoma of the oral cavity.

OBJECTIVES: The main aim of the present study is to analyze the differences in the clinical behavior of pT1 and pT2 oral squamous cell carcinoma of the oral cavity and the importance of tumor thickness in these groups of patients. METHODS: A retrospective analysis was conducted using the records of patients diagnosed with pT1 and pT2 oral squamous cell carcinoma between 2006 and 2015 to identify significant differences between these two groups of patients. Several pathological features such as T-stage, N-stage, tumor thickness, surgical margins, and locoregional failure were analyzed. RESULTS: 194 patients were included in this study. Tumor thickness >0.4 cm was significantly related with nodal involvement and overall survival (p < 0.001). T and N stage, tumor thickness, extracapsular spread and surgical margins were associated with poorer outcomes in terms of overall survival (p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Tumor thickness represents an extremely important prognostic factor and to include depth of invasion (DOI) in the staging of oral squamous cell carcinoma will help in the choice of better treatment strategies and to improve overall survival.