title: Prognostic Significance of Lymph Node Pattern in Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma (OSCC).
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Assessment of lymph node reactivity pattern is an important indicator of the host response status and prognosis of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC).
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To assess the prognostic significance of lymph node reactivity patterns in OSCC.
  
  
  METHODS
  This is a cross-sectional study aimed correlating host status and prognosis of OSCC.
  
  
  METHODS
  Morphological patterns of lymph nodes received from 30 histologically proven cases of OSCC were analyzed. Five different patterns of the lymph node reaction were categorized (lymphocytic predominance, germinal center predominance, sinus histiocytosis, normal lymph node and lymphocytic depleted) and compared with the prognosis of OSCC.
  
  
  METHODS
  TNM, Histological grading parameters and Lymph node reactivity pattern were compared with the event of recurrence of OSCC and death of patient using Fisher's Exact test. Survival of the patients was analyzed for association with lymph node patterns using Log rank test.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Recurrence of the tumour was seen in association with all the patterns, with higher rates of mortality seen in patients with sinus histiocytosis of lymph node.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Morphological pattern being an aid in predicting prognosis, cannot be used as a lone predictor. An attempt is made to identify and discuss the possible pathogenesis for the reaction patterns.
authors.affiliation: Reader, Department of Oral Pathology, Tagore Dental College , Chennai, India .
authors.forename: Makesh
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Raj L S
authors.affiliation: Professor and Head, Department of Oral Pathology, Manipal College of Dental Sciences , Manipal University, Mangalore, India .
authors.forename: Karen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Boaz
authors.affiliation: Associate Professor, Department of Oral Pathology, Manipal College of Dental Sciences , Manipal University, Mangalore, India .
authors.forename: Srikant
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Natarajan
keywords: Germinal center Predominance; Lymphocytic depletion; Lymphocytic predominance; Sinus histiocytosis