Pathologie der malignen Kopf-Hals-Tumoren

Clinical outcome and prognostic factors in recurrent oral squamous cell carcinoma after primary surgical treatment: a retrospective study

OBJECTIVES

Survival for patients with recurrent oral squamous cell carcinoma is usually poor, and the most effective treatment has not yet been clearly defined. The present study evaluates the outcome in radiotherapy-naïve patients after recurrence of oral squamous cell carcinoma with respect to different treatment modalities including surgery, radiation, chemoradiation, and palliative treatment.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

In this retrospective study, we included all patients with primary oral squamous cell carcinoma who received exclusively surgical therapy between 2010 and 2020 and who suffered from locoregional recurrence in their follow-up. Patients with previous adjuvant therapy were excluded from this protocol. Clinical and pathological parameters were collected and statistically evaluated. Survival analysis was performed according to Kaplan-Meier. The primary endpoints were overall and progression-free survival in dependance of treatment strategy for recurrent tumors.

RESULTS

Out of a total of 538 patients with surgically treated primary oral squamous cell carcinoma, 76 patients met the inclusion criteria. The mean follow-up was 38 ± 32 months. Patients who received surgically based therapy had a significantly better outcome in terms of disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) (DFS p < 0.001; OS p < 0.001). The presence of regional metastases and a short disease-free interval (DFI) between primary and recurrent cancer were significant predictors for adverse outcomes (DFI p < 0.001).

CONCLUSION

We recommend primary surgical therapy for radiotherapy-naïve patients with recurrent oral squamous cell carcinoma, supplemented by risk-adapted adjuvant therapy.

CLINICAL RELEVANCE

Surgical therapy continues to play a central role in the treatment of radiotherapy-naïve patients with recurrent oral squamous cell carcinoma.

[Morphology of non cutaneous head and neck squamous cell carcinoma]

Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is by far the most frequent malignant tumor in this anatomic region. Today, HNSCC is divided into two morphologically, molecularly and clinically fundamentally different entities: conventional and virus-associated (HPV/EBV) neoplasms. Premalignant lesions of nonvirus-associated HNSCC include conventional leukoplakia, dysplasia and proliferative verrucous hyperplasia with an increasing risk for malignant transformation. The morphology of HNSCC comprises a spectrum of growth patterns. In addition, special types of HNSCC must be delineated. Recently, for virus-associated HNSCC, some important clinicopathological specifics have become relevant including a separate staging system for these neoplasms. For non-virus associated HNSCC, new grading procedures have been proposed, which significantly impact on prognosis. These issues will be discussed in this review.