Comprehensive analyses of intraoral spindle cell carcinoma: A rare disease entity revisited

The present study was aimed to comprehensively characterize the epidemiological, clinicopathological characteristics, treatments, and prognosis of intraoral spindle cell carcinoma (SpCC).

Patients diagnosed with intraoral SpCC at our institution in the past 15 years (2005-2019) were screened from inpatient disease registry. All relevant data concerning patients with intraoral SpCC were retrieved. Previous reports about intraoral SpCC with adequate clinicopathological data in both English literature and Chinese literature were collected. Eligible cases were further reviewed and pooled for statistical analyses.

Six patients (5 females and 1 male; average age: 59 years) with intraoral SpCC were histopathologically diagnosed and surgically treated at our institution. The literature review identified another 63 published cases from 34 articles. Most cases were presented in the fifth to seventh decade of life with a male preponderance. Gingiva (23/69, 33.3%) was the most common site followed by the tongue (19/69, 27.5%) and buccal mucosa (8/69, 11.6%). Complete surgical ablation remains the primary treatment option. Tumor size, pathological grades, cervical node metastasis, and distant metastasis were significantly associated with reduced survival.

Intraoral SpCC is an uncommon and aggressive malignancy with dismal prognosis. Much attention and effort are needed to characterize this rare entity and improve its clinical outcomes.