Abstract
Tumour depth is an important prognostic factor in head and neck cancer and has recently
been included in the eighth edition of the Union for International Cancer Control
TNM classification of malignant tumours for oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). It
is important to appraise the accuracy of depth assessments; however, there is little
current evidence in the literature. Accurate depth assessment is particularly pertinent
in cT1–T2N0 OSCC where it may influence neck management. A retrospective study was
performed at two tertiary referral centres, in which surgically treated patients with
cT1–T4N0 OSCC were audited. Preoperative tumour depth assessments from multimodality
radiological staging scans were compared with the final histopathological depth. The
predictive accuracy of intraoral ultrasound (IOUS), computed tomography (CT), and
magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for tumour depth was evaluated. Accuracy to within
3 mm of the histopathological depth was seen in 56.7% of MRI scans and 57.1% of CT scans.
IOUS appeared to have superior prediction, with 78.2% of measurements within 3 mm. Over one third of CT and MRI imaging failed to detect a lesion; IOUS scans detected
the lesions in all of these case. In conclusion, the reliability of preoperative imaging
assessment of tumour depth should be considered when recommending treatment.
Key words
To read this article in full you will need to make a payment
Purchase one-time access:
Academic & Personal: 24 hour online accessCorporate R&D Professionals: 24 hour online accessOne-time access price info
- For academic or personal research use, select 'Academic and Personal'
- For corporate R&D use, select 'Corporate R&D Professionals'
Subscribe:
Subscribe to International Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial SurgeryAlready a print subscriber? Claim online access
Already an online subscriber? Sign in
Register: Create an account
Institutional Access: Sign in to ScienceDirect
References
- The TNM classification of malignant tumours.eighth edition. Union for International Cancer Control, 2016
- BAHNO standards.BAHNO, London2009
- Primary tumour staging for oral cancer and a proposed modification incorporating depth of invasion: an international multicenter retrospective study.JAMA Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2014; 140: 1138-1148
- A comparison of the prognostic significance of tumor diameter, length, width, thickness, area, volume, and clinicopathological features of oral tongue carcinoma.Head Neck. 2002; 24: 513-520
- Tumor thickness as a predictive factor of lymph node metastasis and disease recurrence in T1N0 and T2N0 squamous cell carcinoma of the oral tongue.Oral Surg Oral Med Oral Pathol. 2014; 118: 209-217
- Elective versus therapeutic neck dissection in node-negative oral cancer.N Engl J Med. 2015; 373: 521-529
National Cancer Institute. Lip and oral cavity cancer treatment (adult) (PDQ). PDQ Cancer Information Summaries [Internet]. NCBI Bookshelf, 2018. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK65821/ [Accessibility verified October 19, 2020].
- Predictive value of tumor thickness for cervical lymph-node involvement in squamous cell carcinoma of the oral cavity.Cancer. 2009; 115: 1489-1497
- NCCN clinical practice guidelines in oncology (NCCN guidelines)—head and neck cancers.NCCN, Pennsylvania, USA2019
- Cancer of the upper aerodigestive tract: assessment and management in people aged 16 and over (NG36).National Collaborating Centre for Cancer, London, UK2016
- Correlating MRI and histologic tumor thickness in the assessment of oral tongue cancer.AJR Am J Roentgenol. 2004; 182: 803-808
- R: A language and environment for statistical computing.R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna, Austria2019
- Postoperative pathologic assessment of surgical margins in oral cancer: a contemporary review.J Oral Maxillofac Pathol. 2018; 22: 78-85
- Nationwide randomised trial evaluating elective neck dissection for early stage oral cancer (SEND study) with meta-analysis and concurrent real-world cohort.Br J Cancer. 2019; 121: 827-836
- The usefulness of intraoral ultrasonography in the evaluation of oral cancer.Int J Oral Maxillofac Surg. 2001; 30: 139-143
- Preoperative measurement of tumor thickness of oral tongue carcinoma with intraoral ultrasonography.Head Neck. 2008; 30: 230-234
- Accuracy of MRI in prediction of tumour thickness and nodal stage in oral squamous cell carcinoma.Oral Oncol. 2012; 48: 149-154
- Correlation between clinical and MRI assessment of depth of invasion in oral tongue squamous cell carcinoma.J Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2016; 45: 61https://doi.org/10.1186/s40463-016-0172-0
- Accuracy of MRI in prediction of tumour thickness and nodal stage in oral tongue and gingivobuccal cancer with clinical correlation and staging.J Clin Diagn Res. 2016; 10 (TC01–TC05)https://doi.org/10.7860/JCDR/2016/17411.7905
- Optical coherence tomography: an emerging technology for biomedical imaging and optical biopsy.Neoplasia. 2000; 2: 9-25https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.neo.7900071
- The potential role of in vivo optical coherence tomography for evaluating oral soft tissue: a systematic review.J Oral Pathol Med. 2017; 46: 864-876
Article info
Publication history
Published online: December 24, 2020
Accepted:
November 2,
2020
Identification
Copyright
© 2020 International Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
