Abstract
A retrospective investigation to explore the predictors of late cervical lymph node metastasis （LCLM） in stage Ⅰ-Ⅱ tongue squamous cell carcinoma （TSCC） was conducted. The subjects were 62 patients with stage Ⅰ-Ⅱ TSCC who underwent primary tumor resection as the initial treatment. The relationship of LCLM with the candidate factors of age （＜ 60 vs. ≥ 60 years）, gender （female vs. male）, 2017 UICC T classification （T1 vs. T2）, pathological differentiation （high vs. medium / low）, YK classification （1/2/3/4C vs. 4D）, perineural invasion, vascular invasion, pathological depth of invasion （pDOI ＜ 3.5mm vs. ≥ 3.5mm） and tumor budding （TB ＜ 4 vs. ≥ 4）. LCLM occurred in 15 cases （24.2％）, and the time of onset was within 2 years after primary surgery in all cases. Univariate analysis revealed significant differences in the 2017 UICC T classification, YK, pDOI, and TB. Furthermore, multivariate analysis indicated pDOI and TB as the independent predictors. LCLM was observed in 64.3％ of patients with pDOI ≥ 3.5mm and TB ≥ 4.
In conclusion, it is strongly suggested that patients with stage Ⅰ-Ⅱ TSCC （pDOI ≥ 3.5mm and TB ≥ 4） must be strictly followed for up to 2 years after primary tumor resection.
