Abstract
Background Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is considered to be the most common epithelial malignant neoplasm of the oral cavity. Despite advancements in diagnosis and therapeutics the clinical outcome of the disease has not improved much which may be attributed to tumor biology and heterogeneity. Bone invasion by cancer cells is currently staged as a moderately advanced disease. However, many low-grade carcinomas such as verrucous carcinoma and carcinoma cuniculatum show body invasion but less nodal metastases and better overall survival. The present study was orchestrated to analyze if bone invasion in OSCC has any impact on regional nodal metastases and survival. Materials and methods A total of 122 cases of OSCC who underwent excision and neck dissection were retrieved and included. These cases were then divided into two study groups. Group I comprised 56 OSCC cases with bone involvement and 66 cases with no bony involvement. The bone invasion was correlated with nodal metastases, survival and pattern of invasion. Statistical analysis was done using SPSS software (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY, USA). Results There was no statistically significant correlation between bone invasion with either nodal metastases or pattern of invasion, however, the worst pattern of invasion (WPOI)-4,5 showed a statistically higher incidence of nodal involvement in OSCC. No statistical difference was noted in overall survival between the two groups. Conclusion The worst pattern of invasion and not bone involvement, depicts nodal metastases in OSCC and thus, deserves consideration while staging and treatment planning.