Prognostic value of residual node involvement after induction chemotherapy in operable oral squamous cell carcinoma.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to assess the prognostic value of residual node involvement after induction chemotherapy (ICT) for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma and to investigate post-ICT node status associated with tumor characteristics. STUDY DESIGN: We retrospectively analyzed a cohort of 109 patients with operable oral squamous cell carcinoma who underwent ICT followed by surgery with neck dissection. The median follow-up was 45 months. The primary endpoints were overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS). RESULTS: After ICT, 48 patients (44.0%) had no positive nodes, 46 (42.2%) had 1 to 3 residual nodes, and 15 (13.7%) had more than 3 residual nodes. The number of residual nodes was significantly associated with OS and DFS. On multivariate analysis, the number of residual nodes was an independent prognostic factor (P = .011 for DFS and P = .034 for OS). CONCLUSIONS: Although constituting a different parameter from primary surgery data, the number of positive nodes could remain a prognostic factor even after ICT (at secondary surgery).