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Tumour budding has emerged as a promising prognostic marker in many cancers. We systematically reviewed all studies that evaluated tumour budding in diagnostic biopsies. We conducted a systematic review of PubMed, MEDLINE, Scopus, Web of Science and Cochrane library for all articles that have assessed tumour budding in diagnostic (i.e. pretreatment or pre-operative) biopsies of any tumour type. Two independent researchers screened the retrieved studies, removed duplicates, excluded irrelevant studies and extracted data from the eligible studies. A total of 13 reports comprising 11 cohorts were found to have studied tumour budding in diagnostic biopsies. All these reports showed that evaluation of tumour budding in diagnostic biopsies was easily applicable. A strong association was observed between tumour budding score in diagnostic biopsies and corresponding surgical samples. Evaluation of tumour budding in diagnostic biopsies had a significant prognostic value for lymph node metastasis and patient survival. In all studies, tumour budding was a valuable marker of tumour aggressiveness and can be evaluated in technically satisfactory diagnostic biopsies. Thus, the assessment of tumour budding seems to identify the behaviour of cancer, and therefore to facilitate treatment planning.

Background Incidence rates for oral tongue squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) are steadily rising worldwide. Methods All patients diagnosed with primary oral tongue SCC at the 5 university hospitals in Finland from 2005 to 2009 were studied. The mean follow-up time was 43 months (median, 54 months; range, 0–111 months). Results Three hundred sixty patients with primary oral tongue SCC were identified. Treatment with curative intent was provided for 328 patients (91%). The 5-year disease-specific survival (DSS) rates were as follows: stage I 87%; stage II 73%; stage III 69%; and stage IV 51%. The 5-year recurrence-free survival in general has improved from 47% in our previous published series (1995–1999) to 65% in the current series (p < .001). Conclusion The outcome of oral tongue SCC has significantly improved in Finland. However, the relatively high number of disease recurrences in patients with stage I and II disease, when compared with patients with stage III and IV disease, calls for an investigation of new treatment approaches. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Head Neck, 2017

Objective This study evaluated the association of four histopathological grading systems (WHO grading system, malignancy grading of the deep invasive margins (MG), histological risk (HR) model, and tumor budding and depth of invasion (BD) model) with clinicopathological parameters and outcome of 113 oral squamous cell carcinomas to identify their roles in prognosis. Methods Demographic and clinical features were obtained from patients' records. Sections from all paraffin-embedded blocks were evaluated according to the four grading systems. Demographic and clinical associations were analyzed using chi-square test, and correlations between the grading systems were established with the Spearman's rank correlation test. Survival curves were performed with Kaplan–Meier method, and multivariate analysis based on Cox proportional hazard model was calculated. Results Significant associations with survival were observed for WHO grading system and BD model in the univariate analysis, but only the BD model was significantly associated with disease outcome as an independent prognostic marker. Age, tumor size, and presence of regional metastasis were also independent markers of reduced survival. Conclusion A significant association between the BD model and outcome of OSCC patients was observed, indicating this new histopathological grading system as a possible prognostic tool.

BACKGROUND: Mucoepidermoid carcinoma (MEC) is the most common salivary gland malignancy. Although several biomarkers have been evaluated, histological grade remains the most valuable prognostic marker. Toll-like receptor 9 (TLR9) is an immune receptor recognizing microbial DNA. Its expression associates with prognosis or cancer properties in several cancers. This study examined the role of TLR9 in MEC. METHODS: Sixty patients with salivary gland MEC were collected from two Finnish university hospitals, and tumor samples were stained for TLR9. Salivary gland high-grade MEC cell line (UT-MUC-1) was cultured to assess TLR9 and MMP-13 expression. The function of TLR9 was studied in vitro using traditional Matrigel invasion assay and novel human myoma organotypic model. RESULTS: Cancer-specific survival was related with tumor grade (P = 0.01), and there were no deaths in patients with low-grade MEC. TLR9 was expressed in 56 of 60 (93%) tumors. High TLR9 expression indicated better survival in the patient series (P = 0.002) and showed a trend for association with lower disease stage (P = 0.06) and higher differentiation grade (P = 0.068). In multivariate analysis, TLR9 expression was prognostically insignificant due to heavy correlation to disease stage and higher gradus. Treating UT-MUC-1 cells with TLR9 ligand CpG in vitro induced MMP-13 expression and invasion in Matrigel invasion assay, whereas decreased invasion was seen in myoma organotypic model. CONCLUSION: Functional TLR9 is present in salivary MEC, and high level of expression may indicate good prognosis. However, more studies are needed to evaluate biologicalconsequencesofTLR9interactionintumorcells. J Oral Pathol Med (2014) 43: 530–537