Assessment of Tumor Cell Cannibalism as a Predictor of Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma - A Histopathologic Correlation

Cellular cannibalism is defined as the ability of a cell to engulf another cell of its own type or any other. It has been recognized in various malignancies and is linked well with the aggressiveness, degree of anaplasia, invasiveness and metastatic potential. Literature search fetched up very few studies related to the presence and significance of cannibalism with respect to Oral squamous cell carcinoma [OSCC]. The present study was aimed to detect tumor cell cannibalism in OSCC and to validate its role as a prognosticator of OSCC in relation to metastasis and degree of differentiation.

30 histopathologically proven cases, 15 cases each of metastatic OSCC (7 well differentiated OSCC and 8 moderately differentiated OSCC) and non-metastatic OSCC (8 well differentiated OSCC and 7 moderately differentiated OSCC) were included in the study. Quantitative assessment of tumor cell cannibalism was done. The data was analyzed using Mann Whitney test.

Metastatic OSCC showed higher frequency of cannibalistic cells compared to non-metastatic OSCC. More number of cannibalistic cells were found in moderately differentiated OSCC than well differentiated OSCC in both groups. Moreover, Grade III cannibalism and complex cannibalism was also found to be associated with metastatic, moderately differentiated OSCC exclusively.

It has been found that higher number of cannibalistic cells were associated with OSCC showing metastasis indicating their aggressive behavior. So, we recommend that quantitative assessment of tumor cell cannibalism should become a part of the routine histopathological examination of OSCC to screen its hostile behavior.