Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery
Prognostic significance of perineural invasion in oral and oropharyngeal carcinoma

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Abstract

Objective

To evaluate the occurrence and prognostic significance of perineural invasion (PNI) in squamous cell carcinomas (SCC) of the oral cavity and oropharynx.

Study design

A retrospective study of 101 patients with previously untreated SCC of the oral cavity and oropharynx was undertaken to evaluate the occurrence and prognostic significance of PNI in relation to local recurrence, regional recurrence, distant metastasis and survival. The logistic regression test was used for univariate and multivariate analyses. Actuarial survival curves were determined using the Kaplan-Meier method.

Results

PNI was present in 26 (25.7%) of 101 patients and was significantly associated with tumor differentiation, lymph node metastasis, and depth of invasion. Univariate analyses showed PNI was associated with local recurrence (P = .005), regional recurrence (P = .007), and distant metastasis (P = .013). In multivariate analysis, PNI was significantly associated with regional recurrence (P = .033) and distant metastasis (P = .021), but not with local recurrence (P = .109). The 5-year disease-specific survival for patients with and without PNI was 56.6% and 94.6%, respectively (P<.0001).

Conclusion

PNI is an important predictor for outcome of patients with SCC of the oral cavity and oropharynx.

Section snippets

Materials and methods

One hundred one patients with previously untreated SCC of the oral cavity and oropharynx who were treated surgically at the First Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Niigata University, were the subjects of this study. Patients with unresectable tumors at diagnosis and those refusing surgery were excluded from this study. There were 64 male and 37 female patients, with an average age of 60 years (range 26-86 years). The anatomic site of the primary tumor was the oral cavity in 91

Results

Twenty-nine (28.7%) patients had a recurrence or metastases, including 8 patients with recurrence at the primary site, 14 patients with metastases in the neck, and 7 patients with distant metastases. Seventy-five percent of them occurred within 1 year and 92% within 2 years after the initial treatment. Secondary surgery or irradiations were performed for 2 local and twelve neck lesions. One patient with local recurrence and 7 patients with neck recurrence were salvaged successfully with the

Discussion

Perineural spaces are well recognized routes for the extension of tumors of various histologic types arising in the head and neck region.8., 12., 13., 14., 15., 16. In the literature, the occurrence of PNI from carcinomas of the head and neck is reported to range from 6% to 30%,4., 6., 16., 17. similar to the 25.7% rate in the present study. According to the results of our study, PNI is associated with tumor thickness, differentiation, and lymph node metastasis and is an important predictor of

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