Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) has the highest mortality rate of any type of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. For many eons, the clinical TNM (tumor size, nodal metastasis, and distant metastasis) classification and histological grading of malignancies have been used to predict clinical behavior, confusing it with prognosis and overall survival. This review aimed to systematically identify and evaluate the prognostic value of Broder's and Bryne's grading system for OSCC. Electronic resources such as PubMed, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, Google Scholar, Scopus, and direct web searches were used to conduct a thorough search. The titles were examined to identify relevant papers, which were then reviewed for inclusion by reading the abstract. To incorporate studies published outside of the electronic database, the bibliography of all recognized papers was scanned. This review examined all research that investigated the prognostic value of Broder's and Bryne's grading systems in OSCC. The electronic database search identified 221 articles. After reading full articles, based on the titles and abstracts and after removing duplicates, six articles were screened. Finally, six articles were selected based on their ability to meet the inclusion criteria and answer the research question. All studies analyzed the competence of this histological grading system in predicting the prognosis of OSCC patients. Four studies evaluated lymph node metastasis and two studies analyzed the histological grading of OSCC. While evaluating the histological grade, we recommend the application of Bryne's (1992) system for grading OSCC. The standardization of a single, effective method would make it easier to compare results from various studies. This grading system yields better interobserver agreement and bears a prognostic value which may help in devising a treatment strategy for better patient outcomes.
Keywords: broder’s grading system; bryne’s grading system; nodal metastasis; oral squamous cell carcinoma; prognosticator.
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