Objective/hypothesis: Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the temporal bone is an extremely rare condition. This rarity has led to a delay in the establishment of a standard treatment protocol and adequate staging system. Identification of prognostic markers of this disease from a variety of fields is desirable in the establishment of treatment guidelines for temporal bone SCC. The aim of this study is to assess the prognostic role of inflammation-based prognostic scores in cases of temporal bone SCC.
Study design: Case reries with chart review.
Methods: A total of 71 cases of primary malignancy eligible for curative treatment at a single tertiary medical institute were retrospectively analyzed. Univariate and multivariate regression analyzes were used to investigate the association between the inflammation-based scores and 5-year overall survival.
Results: Univariate Cox regression analyzes showed that a high neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio, high platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio, low lymphocyte-to-monocyte ratio, a Glasgow prognostic score of 2, and the systemic inflammation score of 2 were significantly associated with a poor prognosis, as well as a classification of T4 stage, presence of cervical lymph node metastasis, high white blood cell counts, and high C-reactive protein levels. The multivariate analysis showed that a clinical stage of T4 and a systemic inflammation score of 2 were independent prognostic markers.
Conclusions: Inflammation-based prognostic markers are associated with the survival of patients with temporal bone SCC, as well as other head and neck SCCs.
Level of evidence: 4 Laryngoscope, 131:1782-1789, 2021.
Keywords: Temporal bone; inflammatory marker; overall survival; prognostic marker; squamous cell carcinoma.
© 2021 The American Laryngological, Rhinological and Otological Society, Inc.