Prognostic Value of Lymph Node Density in Lingual Squamous Cell Carcinoma

• Published in: Applied sciences Vol. 13; no. 9; p. 5611
• Main Authors: Navarro Cuéllar, Carlos, Sada Urmeneta, Ángela, Lorenzo Marcos, Raquel, Antúnez-Conde, Raúl, López López, Ana, del Castillo Pardo de Vera, José Luis, González Martín-Moro, Javier, Cebrián Carretero, José Luis, Alijo Serrano, Francisco, Dell’Aversana Orabona, Giovanni, Zamorano-León, Jose J, Navarro Cuéllar, Ignacio
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Basel MDPI AG 01.05.2023
• Subjects: Analysis; Cancer; Chemotherapy; Dissection; Health aspects; Hospitals; Impact analysis; lingual squamous cell carcinoma; Longitudinal studies; lymph node density; Lymph nodes; Lymphatic system; Maxillofacial surgery; Medical prognosis; Medical research; Medicine, Experimental; Metastases; Neck; neck dissection; oral cavity cancer; pathological cervical lymphadenopathy; Patients; perineural infiltration; Population; Prognosis; Radiation therapy; Solid tumors; Squamous cell carcinoma; Statistical analysis; Survival; Tongue; Tumors; Spain
• ISSN: 2076-3417; 2076-3417
• DOI: 10.3390/app13095611

Lymph node density (LND)—the proportion of positive nodes among the total number of resected nodes—has emerged as a reliable prognostic factor in solid tumors. This study aims to assess the importance of LND in lingual squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC) and its prognostic involvement. A retrospective longitudinal study with 62 patients was performed. All patients were diagnosed with LSCC and submitted for tumor resection and neck dissection. Patients were stratified into low (<0.04) and high risk (≥0.04) based on LND. We analyzed the impact of LND on overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS), as well as the relationship between LND and the pathological staging, the involvement of positive margins, depth of invasion (DOI) and perineural infiltration. This study provides a substantial relationship between lymph node density (LND), overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) in lingual squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC). A statistically significant distribution was found between LND, perineural infiltration and pathological staging, whereas no association was found with the rest of the prognostic variables analyzed.