Prognostic evaluation of oral tongue cancer: means, markers and perspectives (I).

Oral (mobile) tongue squamous cell carcinoma (OTSCC) is the most common cancer diagnosed within the oral cavity. Due to the inherent disadvantages of the mobile tongue OTSCC behaves aggressively and is generally associated with higher rates of occult metastasis and neck nodal metastasis than any other cancer of the oral cavity. The prognosis remains relatively poor and is still heavily reliant on TNM (tumor, node, metastasis) staging of the tumor despite a vast array of literature on possible prognostic indicators. This is a two-part article which examines the methods by which the behavior and prognosis of OTSCC has been studied, the prognostics markers, and the relevance and future direction of prognostic studies. In this first part, we discuss the relative merits of the methods used in prognostic studies and the clinicopathologic prognostic factors.