Depth of invasion and early recurrence among patients with recurrent oral cavity squamous cell carcinoma after surgery
Surjeet Dwivedi, Wg Cdr Sanjay, Sabita Kumari, Nikhil Thakur, Raj Hans, Siddarth Gautam, Shreyansh Chowdhary, Kshitij Jyoti, Manoj KumarABSTRACT
Background:
Early recurrence after curative surgery for oral cavity squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is associated with poor outcomes, yet factors influencing the timing of recurrence are not well defined. This study evaluated determinants of early versus late recurrence among patients with recurrent OSCC, focusing on the predictive utility of depth of invasion (DOI).
Methods:
We retrospectively analyzed 52 patients with OSCC who developed recurrence after curative-intent surgery. Recurrences were classified as early (≤6 months) or late (>6 months) based on disease-free interval. Clinical, pathological, and treatment-related variables were assessed. Univariate and multivariable logistic regression were used to explore factors associated with early recurrence. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was performed to evaluate the discriminatory ability of DOI and to identify an optimal cut-off.
Results:
Of 52 patients, 11 (21.2%) experienced early recurrence and 41 (78.8%) had late recurrence. In multivariable analysis, greater DOI was significantly associated with early recurrence (adjusted odds ratio 3.73; 95% confidence interval 1.20–11.60;
Conclusion:
In this recurrent OSCC cohort, greater DOI was associated with early recurrence, and a DOI ≥ 0.6 cm identified all early relapse cases at the cost of modest specificity. These hypothesis-generating findings suggest that DOI may help inform risk-adapted early postoperative surveillance but require validation in larger, prospective studies.