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Tumour Cell Anaplasia and Multinucleation as Prognosticators in Oropharyngeal Squamous Cell Carcinoma

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Abstract

Human papilloma virus (HPV)-positive oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinomas (OPSCC) tend to have good outcomes, however a subset does not share this favourable prognosis. The aim of this paper is to investigate the utility of tumour cell anaplasia and multinucleation as prognostic markers in oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma. Retrospective review of 104 patients with OPSCC or squamous cell carcinoma of unknown primary site (SCCUP) who underwent primary resection and/or lymph node dissection. Slides of both primary and nodal metastatic disease were assessed for the presence of anaplasia and multinucleation. 53 patients were HPV-positive. Anaplasia was more frequent in males (p = 0.005), smokers (p = 0.003), and HPV-negative disease (p = 0.04). HPV status and > 10 pack-year smoking history were independent predictors of recurrence-free survival (RFS) and disease-specific survival (DSS). Neither anaplasia, nor multinucleation, at the primary site or in cervical metastases, had any significant impact on RFS or DSS. We did not find either anaplasia or multinucleation to have any significant prognostic impact in OPSCC. However, given the small number of adverse events in the HPV-positive cohort, we may have lacked sufficient power to detect significance in what was the subgroup of primary interest. Our study highlights the challenge of identifying markers of poor prognosis in HPV-positive OPSCC.

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Funding

Funding for the p16 staining was provided by the Head and Neck Oncology Fund, South Infirmary Victoria University Hospital. The funding source had no input into the study design, collection or analysis of data, interpretation, writing of the manuscript, or decision to submit the article for publication.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pathology, Cork University Hospital, Cork, Ireland

    Peter Molony, Reiltin Werner, Cynthia Heffron & Linda Feeley

  2. Department of Histopathology, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland

    Cara Martin

  3. Department of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery, South Infirmary Victoria University Hospital, Cork, Ireland

    Deirdre Callanan & Patrick Sheahan

  4. ENTO Research Unit, College of Medicine and Health, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland

    Deirdre Callanan, Patrick Sheahan & Linda Feeley

  5. Department of Surgery, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland

    Patrick Sheahan

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  1. Peter Molony
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  2. Reiltin Werner
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Correspondence to Peter Molony.

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Molony, P., Werner, R., Martin, C. et al. Tumour Cell Anaplasia and Multinucleation as Prognosticators in Oropharyngeal Squamous Cell Carcinoma. Head and Neck Pathol 14, 606–615 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12105-019-01081-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12105-019-01081-7

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