Clinical relevance of lymph node ratio in resected oral cavity squamous cell carcinoma in patients with N2 disease.

Abstract

6019Background: Lymph node ratio (LNR, number of positive lymph nodes/total number of excised lymph nodes) has been shown to be associated with outcomes in multiple malignancies. In this study, the impact of LNR on distant metastasis (DM) and overall survival (OS) in oral cavity squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) was investigated. Methods: Retrospective review of pN0-2 OSCC patients (pts) treated between 1994-2012 with curative surgery with neck dissection (ND) +/- postoperative radiotherapy (PORT) with or without concurrent chemotherapy (CCT). LNR was subjected to multivariable analysis (MVA) of DM and OS, adjusted for pT3-4, extracapsular extension (ECE), high grade (G3), lymphovascular invasion (LVI), perineural invasion (PNI), and tumor subsite. Results: Overall 914 pts were identified; median age: 61 yr (18-92); median follow-up: 51 months (1–189); pT3-4: 283 (31%); pN-classification: N0: 482 (53%), N1: 128 (14%), N2a: 6 (0.5%); N2b: 225 (24.5%); N2c: 73 (8%); median number of dissected nodes: 36 (6-125)...