Clinico-Pathological Predictors Affecting Lymph Node Status in Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Pathology
• Surgical Oncology

Background:

• Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is a prevalent malignancy.
• Accurate staging, particularly lymph node status, is crucial for treatment planning and prognosis in OSCC.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the correlation between clinicopathological factors and lymph node metastasis (LNM) in OSCC.
• To identify predictors of LNM, extranodal extension (ENE), lymph node ratio (LNR), number of positive nodes (+veN), and T stage in OSCC patients.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective analysis of 301 OSCC patients treated between 2018-2023.
• Evaluation of clinicopathological parameters including age, gender, subsite, tumour grade, depth of invasion (DOI), lymphovascular invasion (LVI), perineural invasion (PNI), bone invasion, and worst pattern of invasion (WPOI).
• Statistical analysis to determine correlations with LNM, ENE, LNR, +veN, and T stage.

Main Results:

• Tumour grade, DOI, LVI, PNI, and medullary bone invasion were significant predictors of LNM, LNR, and +veN.
• Most histopathological parameters, excluding tumour grade, showed a significant association with ENE.
• All parameters, except LVI, were significantly associated with T stage.

Conclusions:

• Histopathological parameters play a critical role in determining lymph node status in OSCC.
• These findings can aid in refining prognostic models and tailoring treatment strategies for OSCC.