Preoperative Serum Albumin Predicts Wound Dehiscence but Not Infection After Surgery for Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Benefit-risk appraisal of lip-split mandibular "swing" vs. transoral approaches to posterior oral/oropharyngeal carcinomas using number needed to treat, to harm, and likelihood to be helped or harmed

PURPOSE

s: To evaluate benefit-risk profiles of lip-split mandibular "swing" vs. transoral approaches (LS-MSA; TOA) to the American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) stage I-III posterior oral/oropharyngeal carcinomas (PO/OPC).

METHODS

Using a retrospective double-cohort study design, we enrolled stage I-III PO/OPC patients treated in two German medical centers during a 4-year interval. The predictor variable was surgical technique (LS-MSA/TOA), and main outcomes were complete resection with R₀ margins (CR-R₀), 5-year overall survival and recurrence (OS₅; R₅), and adverse events (AEs). Descriptive and bivariate statistics were computed with α = 95%. Benefit-risk profiles were investigated using number needed to treat (NNT), to harm (NNH), and likelihood to be helped or harmed (LLH).

RESULTS

At 5-year follow-ups of 202 subjects, LS-MSA caused significantly better CR-R₀ (P = 0.001; NNT: 4) and fewer R₅ (P = 0.003; NNT: 5), but more risks of wound dehiscence ([WD]; P = 0.01; NNH = 8), and orocutaneous fistula ([OCF]; P = 0.01; NNH: 10). LLH calculations demonstrated that LS-MSA was 2 and 1.6 times more likely to result in CR-R₀ and fewer R₅ than an incident of WD. There was no significant difference in OS₅, postoperative infections (within 30 postoperative days) and AE domains according to the University of Washington Quality of Life questionnaire version 4 (UW-QoLv4) between the surgical approach groups.

CONCLUSIONS

Compared to TOA, LS-MSA is an efficacious and tolerable intervention for inspecting and eradicating stage I-III PO/OPCs, and reducing recurrences at 5-year follow-ups. Post-LS-MSA WD and OCF require meticulous concerns and more investigations.

Prognostic impact of preoperative Geriatric Nutritional Risk Index in oral squamous cell carcinoma

OBJECTIVES

To investigate the prognostic impact of preoperative Geriatric Nutritional Risk Index (GNRI) values in older adults undergoing radical surgery for oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC).

SUBJECTS AND METHODS

This retrospective study included 61 patients ≥ 65 years old with OSCC (43 men, 18 women; age: 72.1±5.4 years) who underwent radical surgery between 2013 and 2020. Factors influencing overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) were examined.

RESULTS

Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis indicated that the optimal GNRI value for classifying patients into low-GNRI (<93.7; OS: n=19 [31.1%], DFS: n=42 [68.9%]) and high-GNRI groups (≥93.7; OS, n=19 [31.1%]; DFS, n=42 [68.9%]) was 93.7. OS and DFS rates were significantly lower in the low-GNRI group than in the high-GNRI group. Univariate analysis indicated that alcohol use, preoperative serum C-reactive protein level, lymphatic invasion, postoperative treatment, and GNRI were significantly correlated with OS, while lymphatic invasion, postoperative treatment, and GNRI were significantly correlated with DFS. In multivariate analysis, only GNRI was significantly correlated with OS. DFS and postoperative treatment were independent predictors of DFS.

CONCLUSIONS

Preoperative GNRI may be a significant prognostic factor in older adults with OSCC. GNRI assessment and nutritional intervention may improve prognosis in patients at high nutritional risk.