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.
Keywords: Depth of invasion; Lymph node ratio; Nodal volume; Oral tongue cancer; Predictors of survival.