Cervical node metastases in early squamous cell carcinoma of the floor of the mouth: Predictive value of multiple histopathologic parameters

A semiquantitative assessment of multiple histological parameters was applied retrospectively to 66 patients with stage I and II squamous cell carcinoma of the floor of the mouth to determine if prognostic information relative to cervical node metastases could be obtained. Three parameters relating to the tumor cell population and 5 describing the tumor‐host interface were evaluated on a point scale from 1 to 3 with the highest score going to the most threatening characteristic. Twenty of the 66 patients had either occult metastases identified by elective lymphadenectomy (n=11) or developed metastases to the neck (n=9). There was no correlation between traditional histological grading as recorded at the time of presentation and the frequency of cervical metastases (p> 0.05). Histological reevaluation defined 3 groups of patients with low (16) with an incidence of cervical metastases of 5/39 (12.8%), 6/17 (35.3%), and 9/10 (90%), respectively (p0.05). La réévaluation des patients a permis d'identifier 3 groupes selon que le score était inférieur à 14, compris entre 14 et 16, ou supérieur à 16. La fréquence de métastases dans ces groupes était respectivement de 5/39 (12.8%), 6/17 (35.3%), et 9/10 (90%). Ces résultats suggèrent qu'en plus de la classification TMN, l'évaluation microscopique pourrait être utile pour mieux sélectionner les patients susceptibles d'avoir une chirurgie cervicale élective. Resumen Se aplicó, en forma retrospectiva, una valoración semicuantitativa de múltiples parámetros histológicos