title: Prognostic value of residual node involvement after induction chemotherapy in operable oral squamous cell carcinoma.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this study was to assess the prognostic value of residual node involvement after induction chemotherapy (ICT) for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma and to investigate post-ICT node status associated with tumor characteristics.
  
  
  METHODS
  We retrospectively analyzed a cohort of 109 patients with operable oral squamous cell carcinoma who underwent ICT followed by surgery with neck dissection. The median follow-up was 45 months. The primary endpoints were overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS).
  
  
  RESULTS
  After ICT, 48 patients (44.0%) had no positive nodes, 46 (42.2%) had 1 to 3 residual nodes, and 15 (13.7%) had more than 3 residual nodes. The number of residual nodes was significantly associated with OS and DFS. On multivariate analysis, the number of residual nodes was an independent prognostic factor (P = .011 for DFS and P = .034 for OS).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Although constituting a different parameter from primary surgery data, the number of positive nodes could remain a prognostic factor even after ICT (at secondary surgery).
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral and Maxillofacial-Head and Neck Oncology, Ninth People's Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: Jiong
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lyu
authors.affiliation: Institute of Stomatology, Department of Oral Pathology, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China.
authors.forename: Yi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhong
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral and Maxillofacial-Head and Neck Oncology, Ninth People's Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: Chaojun
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral and Maxillofacial-Head and Neck Oncology, Ninth People's Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: Hao
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Song
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral and Maxillofacial-Head and Neck Oncology, Ninth People's Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: Guoxin
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Ren
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral and Maxillofacial-Head and Neck Oncology, Ninth People's Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China. Electronic address: guoweicn@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Guo
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis / Q000473:pathology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009062:Mouth Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology*; D037981:Neck Dissection; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D011379:Prognosis; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D015996:Survival Rate; D016896:Treatment Outcome