Background and objectives: Some patients with early-stage oral cancer have a poor prognosis owing to the delayed neck metastasis (DNM). Tumor budding is reportedly a promising prognostic marker in many cancers. Moreover, the tissue surrounding a tumor is also considered to play a prognostic role. In this study, we evaluated whether tumor budding and adjacent tissue at the invasive front can be potential novel predictors of DNM in early tongue cancer.
Methods: In total, 337 patients with early-stage tongue squamous cell carcinoma were retrospectively reviewed. The patient characteristics and histopathological factors were evaluated for association with DNM. DNM rates were calculated; items which were significant in the univariate analysis were used as explanatory variables, and independent factors for DNM were identified by the multivariate analysis.
Results: The univariate analysis identified T classification, depth of invasion, tumor budding, vascular invasion, and adjacent tissue at the invasive front as significant predictors of DNM; the multivariate analysis using these factors revealed all the above variables except vascular invasion, which are independent predictors of DNM.
Conclusion: In addition to conventional predictors, high grade tumor budding and adjacent tissue at the invasive front can serve as useful predictors of DNM in early tongue cancer.
Keywords: metachronous neck metastasis; prognostic indicator; small cancer-cell clusters; tongue cancer; tumor-adjacent tissue.
© 2018 The Authors. Journal of Surgical Oncology Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.