The prognostic role of histologic grade, worst pattern of invasion, and tumor budding in early oral tongue squamous cell carcinoma: A comparative study Journal Article


Authors: Xu, B.; Salama, A. M.; Valero, C.; Yuan, A.; Khimraj, A.; Saliba, M.; Zanoni, D. K.; Ganly, I.; Patel, S. G.; Katabi, N.; Ghossein, R.
Article Title: The prognostic role of histologic grade, worst pattern of invasion, and tumor budding in early oral tongue squamous cell carcinoma: A comparative study
Abstract: Major pathology guidelines often mandate stating the histologic grade as a component of the pathology report for various types of cancer. However, the prognostic value of histologic grade in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is controversial at best, and there is a need for more reliable prognostic histologic factors to better stratify and manage patients with HNSCC. In this study, we compared three relevant histopathologic features (histologic grade, worst pattern of invasion (WPOI), and tumor budding) in a large single-center retrospective cohort of early oral tongue squamous cell carcinoma (OTSCC) with tumor greatest dimension ≤ 4 cm. Only histologic grade predicted distant metastasis free survival (DMFS) on univariate analysis. Tumor budding was associated with nodal metastasis, overall survival (OS), regional recurrence-free survival (RRFS), and DMFS and was a significant predictor for nodal metastasis on the multivariable logistic regression model. WPOI 5 was associated with high frequency of nodal metastasis and shortened OS and was an independent adverse prognostic factor for OS on multivariate analysis using the Cox proportional hazards model. WPOI and tumor budding were prognostically more relevant than histologic grade. Consideration should be given to include WPOI and tumor budding in the pathology reporting of OTSCC. © 2021, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH, DE part of Springer Nature.
Keywords: histologic grade; tumor budding; prognosis; pattern of invasion; oral tongue squamous cell carcinoma
Journal Title: Virchows Archiv
Volume: 479
Issue: 3
ISSN: 0945-6317
Publisher: Springer  
Date Published: 2021-09-01
Start Page: 597
End Page: 606
Language: English
DOI: 10.1007/s00428-021-03063-z
PUBMED: 33661329
PROVIDER: scopus
PMCID: PMC8417140
DOI/URL:
Notes: Article -- Export Date: 1 October 2021 -- Source: Scopus
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MSK Authors
  1. Ronald A Ghossein
    482 Ghossein
  2. Snehal G Patel
    412 Patel
  3. Nora Katabi
    303 Katabi
  4. Ian Ganly
    430 Ganly
  5. Bin   Xu
    227 Xu
  6. Abeer Majid Salama
    16 Salama
  7. Anjanie Khimraj
    13 Khimraj
  8. Maelle Fouad Saliba
    20 Saliba
  9. Avery Yuan
    15 Yuan