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Background: The clinical significance of tertiary lymphoid structures (TLSs) is not well-documented in early oral tongue squamous cell carcinoma (OTSCC).Methods: A total of 310 cases of early (cT1-2N0) OTSCC were included in this multicenter study. Assessment of TLSs was conducted on hematoxylin and eosin-stained sections. TLSs were assessed both in the central part of the tumor and at the invasive front area.Results: The presence of TLSs associated with improved survival of early OTSCC as presented by Kaplan-Meier survival analyses for disease-specific survival (P = 0.01) and overall survival (P = 0.006). In multivariable analyses, which included conventional prognostic factors, the absence of TLSs associated with worse disease-specific survival with a hazard ratio (HR) of 1.96 (95% CI 1.09-3.54; P = 0.025) and poor overall survival (HR 1.66, 95% CI 1.11-2.48; P = 0.014).Conclusion: Histological evaluation of TLSs predicts survival in early OTSCC. TLSs showed superior prognostic power independent of routine WHO grading and TNM staging system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Squamous cell carcinoma of tongue (SCCT) is expected to harbor unique clinico-pathological and molecular genetic features since a significant proportion of patients are young and exhibit no association with tobacco or alcohol., Methods: We determined P53, epidermal growth factor receptor, microsatellite instability, human papilloma virus infection and loss of heterozygosity status at several tumor suppressor loci in one hundred and twenty one oral SCCT (SSCOT) samples and analyzed their association with clinico-pathological features and patient survival., Results: Our results revealed a significantly higher incidence of p53 nuclear stabilization in early (as against late) onset SCCOT. FHIT loss was significantly associated with p53 nuclear stabilization and the association was stronger in patients with no history of tobacco use. Samples harboring mutation in p53 DNA binding domain or exhibiting p53 nuclear stabilization, were significantly associated with poor survival., Conclusion: Our study has therefore identified distinct features in SCCOT tumorigenesis with respect to age and tobacco exposure and revealed possible prognostic utility of p53.