The prognostic significance of tumor deposits in patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinomas

Shuting Yu; Yingying Zhu; Xiaohua Shi; Wenwen Diao; Xiaoli Zhu; Zhiqiang Gao; Xingming Chen

doi:10.21037/atm-20-4369

The prognostic significance of tumor deposits in patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinomas

Ann Transl Med. 2021 Mar;9(5):377. doi: 10.21037/atm-20-4369.

Authors

Shuting Yu¹, Yingying Zhu¹, Xiaohua Shi², Wenwen Diao¹, Xiaoli Zhu¹, Zhiqiang Gao¹, Xingming Chen¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Peking Union Medical College and Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing, China.
² Department of Pathology, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Peking Union Medical College and Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing, China.

Abstract

Background: A tumor deposit (TD) is a phenomenon that has not been well studied in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) but might have prognostic significance. The present study was conducted to explore the presence and the prognostic significance of TDs in patients with HNSCCs.

Methods: Six hundred forty-two pathologically confirmed HNSCC patients with neck dissection samples were enrolled in this retrospective study. Patients were followed up and evaluated every 3 months in the first 3 years after surgery, and every 6 months thereafter by physical examination and computed tomography (CT)/magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans. The five-year overall survival (OS), disease-specific survival (DSS), and recurrence-free survival (RFS) were compared in the TD and non-TD groups using multivariable analyses and propensity score matching (PSM) methodology (1:1).

Results: The 5-year OS, DSS, and RFS rate of all patients was 77.3%, 80.6%, and 71.9%, respectively. In the multivariable analyses, poorer rates of OS (HR =2.345, P<0.001), DSS (HR =2.818, P<0.001), and RFS (HR =2.536, P<0.001) were observed in the TD versus the non-TD group. In the PSM cohort, eighty-one patients who had TDs were paired with 70 patients without TDs. Significantly diminished rates of DSS (P=0.040) and RFS (P=0.004) were found in the TD versus the non-TD group.

Conclusions: In response to sparse reports regarding TDs in HNSCCs, the present study proposes the TD as an independent poor prognostic factor meriting further research because of its association with diminished OS, DSS, and RFS rates.

Keywords: Head and neck carcinoma; prognostic significance; propensity score matching; survival; tumor deposits.