Peri-neural Invasion is An Important Prognostic Factor of T2N0 Oral Cancer

Abstract Purpose: To determine the prognostic factors of T2N0 oral cancer patients who have received radical surgery.Materials and Methods: From January 2012 to December 2017, a total of 166 T2N0 oral cancer patients who had received radical surgery were analyzed. Thirty-one of them received postoperative adjuvant therapy. The endpoints were disease-specific survival (DSS), and disease-free survival (DFS). The associated factors of survival according to pathologic results and treatment, including perineural invasion (PNI), angiolymphatic invasion (ALI), and adjuvant therapy, were analyzed.Results: The median follow up time was 43.5 months. The 3-year rates of DSS, and DFS were 86.1% and 80.1%, respectively. The 3-year DSS for perineural invasion (PNI) negative and PNI positive patients was 90.8% and 57.0%, respectively (p=0.0006), with the 3-year DFS for PNI negative and PNI positive patients being 84.2% and 54.6%, respectively (p=0.001). A multivariate analysis revealed PNI was an independent prognostic factor of DSS (Hazard Ratio [HR] = 3.29; 95% Confidence Interval [CI] = 1.35-8.02; p = 0.009), and DFS (HR = 4.68; 95% CI = 1.77-12.3; p = 0.002). Adjuvant therapy was also an independent prognostic factor of DSS (HR = 0.26; 95% CI = 0.08-0.78; p = 0.017), and DFS (HR = 0.27; 95% CI = 0.07-0.96; p = 0.044).Conclusion: PNI was an independent prognostic factor and adjuvant therapy improved the clinical outcomes for T2N0 oral cancer patients.