Prognostic impact of different TNM-based stage groupings for oral squamous cell carcinoma.

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the prognostic significance of different TNM-based stage groupings proposed in the literature. We conducted a retrospective analysis of 300 patients with primary oral squamous cell carcinoma (T1-4, N0-2, M0). The stage grouping systems of the sixth edition of the Union Internationale Contre le Cancer (UICC), T and N Integer Score (TANIS), the Snyderman scheme, the Hart scheme, and the Berg scheme were tested for their prognostic significance. Disease free survival (DFS) was plotted by Kaplan-Meier analysis. Prognostic factors were identified through univariate and multivariate analysis. On univariate analysis, all systems revealed discriminatory power for DFS; however, on multivariate analysis, only the Hart scheme predicted DFS. The TANIS did not have a better prognostic ability than the UICC stage grouping. Unlike in previous studies, the UICC stage grouping did perform worse than other TNM-based stage groupings, which may be due to the alterations made in the sixth edition.