title: Prognostic impact of perineural invasion in hypopharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this study was to evaluate the role of PNI in HPSCC.
  
  
  METHODS
  The medical records of 105 patients who underwent surgery-based treatment for HPSCC were reviewed. Clinicopathologic parameters including disease-specific survival were correlated with PNI.
  
  
  RESULTS
  PNI was identified in 27 of the 105 (25.7%) cases of HPSCC. Correlation analysis demonstrated that PNI in HPSCC was significantly correlated with pN classification (10.3% in N0/N1 vs 34.8% in N2/N3, p = 0.006). Patients with PNI had decreased 5-year disease-specific survival with borderline significance (p = 0.065). In a sub-set of 31 patients who did not receive post-operative radiotherapy, PNI was determined to be a significant prognostic predictor (p = 0.033). In multivariate analysis, extracapsular invasion was the only independent prognostic factor for disease-specific survival (p = 0.001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Perineural invasion (PNI) should be considered an independent predictor for cervical lymph node involvement. PNI status in primary hypopharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (HPSCC) specimens should be considered in decisions concerning adjuvant radiotherapy.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery , the Catholic University of Korea , Seoul , Korea ;
authors.forename: Young-Hoon
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Joo
authors.affiliation: a Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery , the Catholic University of Korea , Seoul , Korea ;
authors.forename: Kwang-Jae
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Cho
authors.affiliation: b 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: a Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery , the Catholic University of Korea , Seoul , Korea ;
authors.forename: Sang-Yeon
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: a Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery , the Catholic University of Korea , Seoul , Korea ;
authors.forename: Min-Sik
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Kim
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology* / Q000628:therapy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007012:Hypopharyngeal Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology* / Q000628:therapy; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009333:Neck / Q000294:innervation; D010525:Peripheral Nerves / Q000473:pathology*; D011379:Prognosis; D056910:Republic of Korea / Q000453:epidemiology; D012189:Retrospective Studies
keywords: Squamous cell carcinoma; adjuvant radiotherapy; hypopharyngeal neoplasms; lymphatic metastasis; nerve tissue neoplasms