Role of adverse pathological features in surgically treated early oral cavity carcinomas with adequate margins and the development of a scoring system to predict local control

Background The purpose of this study was to determine the factors affecting local control in patients with T1N0 squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the tongue. Methods We conducted a retrospective analysis of 144 patients with pT1N0 SCC of the tongue who underwent wide excision and neck dissection without adjuvant therapy. Results The adverse pathological features associated with local control were least margin 5 mm (P = .004), infiltrative margin (P = .403), depth >4 mm (P = .136), lymphovascular invasion (P = .301), and perineural invasion (P = .342). We derived a scoring system of 10 points based on the hazard ratio for local failure; those with scores >5 points had a 5-year local control of Conclusion This study suggests patients having a margin of 5 mm need revision, however, if they do not have additional adverse pathological features (score <= 4), local control is 88% at 5 years, and they may be observed. Those who have margins over 5 mm with a total score >5 may still benefit from adjuvant therapy. Those with margins over 5 mm have improved local control (P = .029).