ABSTRACT
<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the presence of vasculogenic mimicry (VM) in tongue squamous cell carcinoma and explore its clinical significance.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Forty-two surgical specimens of tongue squamous cell carcinoma were examined for the presence of VM using HE staining and double staining of CD34 and PAS.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Of the 42 specimens, 18 (42.86%) showed the presence of VM. VM was not correlated with the patients' age or gender, but with lymph node metastasis and the grade of tumor differentiation. Compared with tumors without VM, the tumors with VM had a significantly higher rate of lymph node metastasis (P<0.05) and a lower grade of differentiation (P<0.05).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>VM can be present in tongue squamous cell carcinoma, and the poorly differentiated tumors contain more VM, which is associated with a greater likeliness of lymph node metastasis and a poorer prognosis.</p>