title: Prognostic impact of lymph node micrometastasis in oral and oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinomas.
abstract: The purpose of this study was to determine the role of lymph node micrometastasis in oral and oropharyngeal cancers.
  
  
  
  We investigated the presence of micrometastases by cytokeratin immunohistochemical staining in 54 patients with node-negative oral and oropharyngeal carcinomas.
  
  
  
  The positive rate of cytokeratin expression was 13.0% (7 of 54 patients). The incidence of micrometastasis was significantly higher in patients with more invasive tumors (p < .001) and larger tumor size (p = .034). The 5-year disease-specific (DS) survival rate significantly correlated with micrometastasis, margin involvement, and depth of invasion in the univariate analyses. Multivariate Cox regression analysis confirmed a significant association between the 5-year DS survival rate and micrometastasis (hazard ratio [HR] = 7.89; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.09-57.14; p = .041) and margin involvement (HR = 11.68; 95% CI = 1.22-111.75; p = .033).
  
  
  
  Micrometastasis was significantly correlated with the depth of invasion and tumor size in oral and oropharyngeal cancers. Furthermore, micrometastasis was associated with adverse outcomes. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Head Neck 38: E1777-E1782, 2016.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Jung-Hae
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Cho
authors.affiliation: Department of Hospital Pathology, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Youn-Soo
authors.initials: YS
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Dong-Il
authors.initials: DI
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Min-Sik
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Kwang-Jae
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Cho
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: In-Chul
authors.initials: IC
authors.lastname: Nam
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Choung-Soo
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Sang-Yeon
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Young-Hak
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Park
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Young-Hoon
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Joo
mesh_terms: D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008198:Lymph Nodes / Q000473:pathology; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis / Q000175:diagnosis*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009062:Mouth Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology; D009361:Neoplasm Invasiveness; D061206:Neoplasm Micrometastasis / Q000175:diagnosis*; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D010610:Pharyngeal Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology; D011379:Prognosis; D015996:Survival Rate
keywords: neoplasm invasiveness; neoplasm micrometastasis; oral neoplasms; oropharyngeal neoplasms; prognosis