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Updated: Dec 22, 2025
Multi-photon Imaging of Tumor Cell Invasion in an Orthotopic Mouse Model of Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma
Published on: July 25, 2011
Analyzing the factors that influence occult metastasis in oral tongue cancer
Jung-Hyun Shin1,2, Hye-Jung Yoon3, Soung-Min Kim1
1Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, School of Dentistry and Dental Research Institute, Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea.
Objectives:
We accessed the various clinico-histopathological factors, and their association with occult metastasis (OM) in oral tongue squamous cell carcinoma (OTSCC).
Materials And Methods:
One hundred-nine patients with OTSCC were divided into the elective neck dissection (END) group and the watchful waiting (WW) group. Age, sex, T-stage, depth of invasion and differentiation were evaluated to determine the correlation between clinico-histopathological factors and OM. For immunohistochemical analysis, paraffin-embedded blocks of 41 OTSCC specimens were examined with antibodies (VEGF-c, c-Met, and ROR1).
Results:
The group with tumor thickness of oral tongue cancer ≥3 mm had higher incidence of OM than those with a thickness of <3 mm. The depth of invasion was statistically correlated with OM (P=0.022). Immunohistochemical analysis showed that high expression of VEGF-c (P=0.043), c-Met (P=0.009), and ROR-1 (P=0.003) were statistically correlated with OM.
Conclusion:
The analysis of these clinico-histopathological and immunohistochemical factors can help to determine neck dissection in clinically negative (cN0) patients.
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