Absence of multinucleated giant cell reaction as an indicator of tumor progression in oral tongue squamous cell carcinoma

Purpose The aim of this study was to evaluate the presence and distribution of multinucleated giant cell (MGC) reactions in 61 cases of OTSCC and to verify the association of this microscopic finding with clinicopathological parameters (gender, age, tumor size/extent, regional lymph node metastasis, distant metastasis, clinical stage, and histopathological grade of malignancy). Methods Clinical data were collected from medical records and the histopathological grade of malignancy of OTSCCs was evaluated using the World Health Organization (WHO) grading system. The presence and distribution of MGC reaction in high power fields (HPFs) were evaluated in hematoxylin–eosin-stained histological sections. In all cases containing MGCs, immunohistochemical analysis for CD68 was performed in order to confirm the histiocytic nature of these cells. Results Twenty-one (34.4%) cases had MGC reactions, with a higher frequency of the focal distribution pattern (57.1%). All MGCs were immunohistochemically positive for CD68. The absence of MGC reaction was significantly associated with regional lymph node metastasis (PR: 2.75; 95% CI 1.05–7.20; p = 0.027), advanced clinical stage (PR: 3.37; 95% CI 1.28–8.85; p = 0.006), and moderately/poorly differentiated tumors (PR: 3.36; 95% CI 1.51–7.48; p = 0.001). No significant associations were observed between the distribution of MGCs and clinicopathological parameters ( p > 0.05). Conclusion Taken together, the results of this study suggest that the absence of MGC reaction may represent an indicator of tumor progression in OTSCCs.