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Prognostic outcomes of treatment naïve oral tongue squamous cell carcinoma (OTSCC): a comprehensive analysis of 14 years

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A Correction to this article was published on 20 January 2021

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Abstract

Objectives

To analyze the factors predicting survival outcomes in treatment naïve oral tongue squamous cell carcinoma (OTSCC).

Materials and methods

A comprehensive review of 531 oral tongue carcinoma patients treated with upfront surgery followed by adjuvant radiotherapy or chemoradiotherapy was conducted from 2004–2018.

Results

The mean age of presentation was 53 years (11–86) with a male to female ratio of 1.3:1. The associated risk factors were smoking (21%), betel nut (16%), naswar (9%) and alcohol (1%). Most of the cases were either well (45.1%) or moderately (46.2%) differentiated. Surgery was performed in 164 patients alone while 368 were treated with surgery in combination with adjuvant modalities. Overall (OS) and disease free survival (DFS) were 66 and 71%, respectively, with a median follow up of 2.5 years. Cox regression analysis showed nodal positivity, increased depth of invasion (DOI) and higher lymph node ratio (LNR) as significant prognosticators impacting OS and DSS.

Conclusion

Nodal volume, DOI and LNR are the most consistent predictors of poor outcome in OTSCC. Nodal positivity, depth of invasion > 5 mm and lymph node ratio > 0.04 adversely affect OS and DSS.

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Data availability

All data generated or analyzed during this study are included in this published article.

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Funding

The research received no external funding.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Head and Neck Surgery, Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital and Research Center, Lahore, Pakistan

    Muhammad Faisal, Rahim Dhanani, Sami Ullah, Kashif Iqbal Malik & Raza Hussain

  2. Department of Cancer Registry and Clinical Data Management, Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital and Research Center, Lahore, Pakistan

    Muhammad Abu Bakar

  3. Department of Pathology, Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital and Research Center, Lahore, Pakistan

    Asif Loya

  4. Department of Head and Neck Surgery, Evangelisches Krankenhaus, Vienna, Austria

    Erovic M. Boban

  5. Department of Radiation Oncology, Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital and Research Center, Lahore, Pakistan

    Nabia Irfan & Arif Jamshed

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  1. Muhammad Faisal
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  2. Rahim Dhanani
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Correspondence to Muhammad Faisal.

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Faisal, M., Dhanani, R., Ullah, S. et al. Prognostic outcomes of treatment naïve oral tongue squamous cell carcinoma (OTSCC): a comprehensive analysis of 14 years. Eur Arch Otorhinolaryngol 278, 3045–3053 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00405-020-06482-x

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