Clinicopathological features and proliferation markers in tongue squamous cell carcinomas

The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinicopathological features and immunohistochemical expression of proliferation markers in oral tongue squamous cell carcinomas (OTSCC). Sixty-three patients without previous treatment or distant metastases were selected. Clinical information was retrieved from medical charts, histopathological analysis was performed and expression of proliferation markers (Ki-67, Mcm-2 and geminin) was evaluated. Most patients were men (81%) (male:female ratio 4.25:1). The age range was 31–92 years (mean 57.6 ± 11.81 years). A high Anneroth score was associated with tumour size (p = 0.05), tumoural embolization of the blood vessels (p = 0.003), nodal metastasis (p = 0.05), nodal capsule rupture (p = 0.016) and distant metastasis (p = 0.002). Elevated Bryne scores were significantly associated with nodal capsule rupture (p = 0.02), distant metastasis (p = 0.002), shorter overall survival (OS) (p = 0.03) and disease-free survival (DFS) (p = 0.05) compared with patients with lower score. Elevated Ki-67+ cells (p = 0.05) and Mcm-2+ cells (p = 0.008) were associated with nodal metastasis and tumours with a high geminin score demonstrated a significant tendency for neural invasion (p = 0.05). Anneroth and Bryne score in association with biomarkers of proliferation can be useful for evaluating the biological behaviour of OTSCC.