Objective: To investigate the relationship between extracapsular spread (ECS) of cervical metastatic lymph node and the recurrence in patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC).
Methods: The medical records of 74 OSCC patients with histologically confirmed cervical lymph node metastasis were reviewed. They were divided into 2 groups, ECS positive (ECS+) and ECS negative (ECS-). The treatment results were followed up. Statistical analysis, with chi-square test, and multiple logistic regression was conducted.
Results: The overall recurrence rates for pN+/ECS- and pN+/ECS+ patients were 47.6% and 75.0%, respectively, and the cervical recurrence rates for pN+/ECS- and pN+/ECS+ patients were 9.5% and 46.9%, respectively (P < 0.001). Multivariate analysis showed that ECS was one of the independent prognosis factors for cervical recurrence.
Conclusions: Extracapsular spread significantly increased both overall and cervical recurrence rates, and ESC may be a prognosis factor for OSCC patients.