Abstract
In an attempt to predict cervical lymph node metastasis of squamous cell carcinoma of the tongue, relationship between clinicopathological factors and metastasis in 280 patients was investigated by multivariate analysis (discriminate analysis the quantification theory type II) . In addition, expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and nm23H1-protein in 54 specimens of the primary tongue cancer was examined immunohistochemically in relation to metastasis.
Discriminate analysis showed that 4 factors such as the histopathological mode of invasion, the T category, the site of primary tumor (posterior, mid, and anterior) and the clinical type (elevated type, ulcerative type, granular type, and papillary or leukoplakic type) was significantly related to metastasis (p<0.05) . In the external check of discriminate analysis in 47 patients of stage I and II, 78.7% of the patients could be accurately distinguished for with and without late metastasis by a discriminate score (a total sum of the standardized scores of 4 factors) . Immunohistochemically, the frequency of metastasis was significantly higher (p<0.01), as the intensity of VEGF expression was increased. On the other hand, nm23-hl protein-positive group was apt to have a lower frequency of metastasis than the negative one (p<0.01) . The results suggested that this multivariate analysis using clincal and pathological findings, including immunohisochemical examination of VEGF or nm23-H1 protein, might be useful for predicting cervical lymph node metastasis and selsecting the therapeutic method for stage I and II of squamous cell carconoma of the tongue.
