BACKGROUND: Elective neck dissection (END) is commonly used as a staging and therapeutic procedure for oral squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) at high risk of nodal metastases. The authors aimed to determine whether the extent of lymphadenectomy, as defined by nodal yield, is a prognostic factor in this setting. METHODS: A retrospective database review identified 225 patients undergoing END with curative intent for oral SCC between 1987 and 2009. Nodal yield was studied as a categorical variable for association with overall, disease-specific, and disease-free survival in univariate and multivariate analyses. RESULTS: Nodal yield <18 was associated with 5-year overall survival of 51% compared with 74% in those with nodal yield 18 (P ¼ .009). Five-year disease-specific survival rates were 69% in those with <18 nodes and 87% in patients with 18 nodes (P ¼ .022). Similar results were obtained for disease-free survival, with 5-year rates of 44% with <18 nodes versus 71% with 18 nodes (P ¼ .043). After adjusting for the effect of age, nodal status, T stage, and adjuvant radiotherapy on multivariate analysis, nodal yield <18 was associated with reduced overall (hazard ratio [HR], 2.0; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.1-3.6; P ¼ .020), disease-specific (HR, 2.2; 95% CI, 1.1-4.5; P ¼ .043), and disease-free survival (HR, 1.7; 95% CI, 1.1-2.8; P ¼ .040). In the pathologically lymph nodenegative subgroup (n ¼ 148), similar results were obtained. CONCLUSIONS: Nodal yield is an independent prognostic factor in patients undergoing END for oral SCC. These results suggest that an adequate lymphadenectomy in this setting should include at least 18 nodes.

BACKGROUNDCutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the head and neck is a common cancer that has the potential to metastasize to lymph nodes in the parotid gland and neck. Previous studies have highlighted limitations with the current TNM staging system for metastatic skin carcinoma. The aim of this study was to test a new staging system that may provide better discrimination between patient groups.METHODSA retrospective multicenter study was conducted on 322 patients from three Australian and three North American institutions. All had metastatic cutaneous SCC involving the parotid gland and/or neck and all were treated for cure with a minimum followup time of 2 years. These patients were restaged using a newly proposed system that separated parotid disease (P stage) from neck disease (N stage) and included subgroups of P and N stage. Metastases involved the parotid in 260 patients (149 P1; 78 P2; 33 P3) and 43 of these had clinical neck disease also (22 N1; 21 N2). Neck metastases alone occurred in 62 patients (26 N1; 36 N2). Ninety percent of patients were treated surgically and 267 of 322 received radiotherapy.RESULTSNeck nodes were pathologically involved in 32% of patients with parotid metastases. Disease recurred in 105 (33%) of the 322 patients, involving the parotid in 42, neck in 33, and distant sites in 30. Parotid recurrence did not vary significantly with P stage. Disease‐specific survival was 74% at 5 years. Survival was significantly worse for patients with advanced P stage: 69% survival at 5 years compared with 82% for those with early P stage (P = 0.02) and for those with both parotid and neck node involvement pathologically: 61% survival compared with 79% for those with parotid disease alone (P = 0.027). Both univariate and multivariate analysis confirmed these findings. Clinical neck involvement among patients with parotid metastases did not significantly worsen survival (P = 0.1).CONCLUSIONSThis study, which included a mixed cohort of patients from six different institutions, provides further information about the clinical behavior of metastatic cutaneous SCC of the head and neck. The hypothesis that separation of parotid and neck disease in a new staging system is supported by the results. The benefit of having subgroups of P and N stage is uncertain, but it is likely to identify patients with unfavorable characteristics that may benefit from further research. Cancer 2006. © 2006 American Cancer Society.

The LNR is an independent prognostic factor in OSCC and may be used in conjunction with the current TNM staging to enable better risk stratification and selection for adjuvant therapy.

BACKGROUND: A study was undertaken to determine whether bone invasion is an independent prognostic factor in oral squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) after taking into account the extent of bone invasion. METHODS: The study was a retrospective review of 498 patients with oral SCC undergoing surgery with curative intent, 102 of whom had pathologically proven bone invasion. Bone invasion was categorized as absent, cortical, or medullary and tested for association with disease control and survival. RESULTS: After adjusting for potential confounding factors in multivariate analysis, there was no association between cortical invasion and overall (P ¼ .48) or disease-specific survival (P ¼ .63). In contrast, medullary invasion was an independent predictor of reduced overall (hazard ratio [HR], 1.9; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.2-3.1; P ¼ .006) and disease-specific survival (HR, 2.1; 95% CI, 1.2-3.6; P ¼ .01), and this appeared to result from an increased risk of distant metastatic failure (P ¼ .037) rather than local (P ¼ .51) or regional recurrence (P ¼ .14). Within the subset of patients with medullary invasion, survival differed significantly according to tumor size (P ¼ .029). CONCLUSIONS: Patients with oral SCC and bone invasion have widely variable outcomes depending on the depth of bone invasion and tumor size. The results suggest that the current American Joint Committee on Cancer staging system, which classifies all tumors invading through cortical bone as T4, has limited prognostic utility. The authors recommend a revision of the T staging system such that tumors are classified as T1 to T3 based on size and then upstaged by 1 T stage in the presence of medullary bone invasion. Cancer 2011;117:4460-7.

The LNR is an important independent prognostic factor in PTC and can be used in conjunction with existing staging systems. A clinical relevant cut-off point of 0.3 (one positive lymph node out of three total) is proposed. No prognostic implications for LNY were identified.

Multifocal PNI is associated with poor outcomes even with PORT suggesting consideration of therapeutic escalation, particularly with involved nerves ≥1 mm. Unifocal PNI did not affect prognosis even in the absence of PORT, which may not be required if this is the sole risk factor. Prospective validation and testing of these hypotheses is essential before implementation.

the relationship of these prognostic variables displays a dynamic interaction. Initial combined-modality treatment and shorter time to recurrence were associated with worse outcome, while the effect of site of recurrence (local vs regional) was dependent on an interaction with the time to recurrence. The result of this interaction was that local recurrence was worse for those who experienced it early (eg, <6 mo after the initial treatment) and nodal recurrence was worse for those who experienced it late (eg, ≥ 6 mo after the intial treatment).

Patients undergoing salvage surgery within 12 months, and in particular within 4 months, who have received high dose radiotherapy (>64 Gy) or concurrent chemoradiation are at high risk of developing PCF.