Tumour-stroma ratio is a valuable prognostic factor for oral tongue squamous cell carcinoma.

Abstract

The objectives of this study were to estimate the prognostic value of the tumour-stroma ratio (TSR) and tumour budding (TB) in oral tongue squamous cell carcinoma (OTSCC) and to establish a reliable model to predict the outcome of OTSCC patients. A total of 103 patients surgically treated at our hospital were enrolled in this study. Chi-square tests, Kaplan-Meier analyses and Cox proportional hazards regression models were performed for statistical analysis. Fifty-six patients were categorized as stroma-rich, and 47 patients were categorized as stroma-poor. Only pathological grade was associated with the TSR (p=0.017). Kaplan-Meier analysis showed that stroma-rich, high-intensity budding and high risk groups were associated with worse prognosis. The Cox regression model showed that the TSR was an independent risk factor for OTSCC patients prognosis, and the high risk group was also related to poor prognosis (p<0.05). TB was significantly associated with poor prognosis but was not an independent risk factor. We found that patients in the stroma-rich group had a worse long-term prognosis. The TSR is an independent risk factor for OTSCC patients' outcome. In addition, a risk model that combined the TSR and TB proved to be valuable for predicting OTSCC patients' outcome.