Abstract
Oral tongue squamous cell carcinomas differ significantly from that of other subsites
of oral cavity in relation to clinical behavior. They are more aggressive and have
a poorer prognosis. The treatment of choice of early (stage I and II) tongue cancers
is surgery. The need for adjuvant treatment is decided on the basis of the histopathology
report of the surgical specimen. High-risk patients (positive surgical margins, perineural
invasion, lymphovascular spread, lymph node metastasis, and extracapsular extension)
receive adjuvant treatment while others are observed. Unfortunately, in the apparently
low-risk patients who are observed, there is a high rate of locoregional failure.
There are certain histopathology parameters though not routinely validated may be
of prognostic significance in this subset of patients. In this review, we have highlighted
the importance of the routinely validated and the nonvalidated histopathology parameters
and their proper assessment in the decision-making for adjuvant treatment of patients
with early tongue cancers.
Keywords
Adjuvant therapy in tongue cancers - early squamous cell carcinoma tongue - indications
for radiotherapy in tongue cancers - molecular markers in tongue cancers