Tumor budding in laryngeal carcinoma

ABSTRACT

Background: Tumor budding was defined as a single cancer cell or a cluster of fewer than five cancer cells in the stroma of the invasive tumor margin. It has been suggested as a prognostic factor in various cancers, such as esophageal, lung, colorectal, and endometrial. There are only a few studies about the prognostic signifi cance of tumor budding in laryngeal carcinomas. Materials and Methods: A total of 81 patients with laryngeal carcinoma diagnosed between 2011 and 2016 and treated by partial or total laryngectomy were evaluated. Clinicopathologic parameters were correlated with the presence and grade of tumor budding. Results: The study was consisted of 77 (95.1%) male and 4 (4.9%) female patients. The mean age of the patients was 60.2 years (min 42 and max 78). Median follow-up time was 25 months (min 7 and max 54) (SD ±11.5). Histopathologic diagnosis was squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) in all patients. Of the 62 cases showing budding, 2 (3.2%) were stage 1, 12 (19.4%) stage 2, 16 (25.8%) stage 3, and 32 (51.6%) were stage 4. Fifteen cases with budding (24.2%) showed lymphovascular invasion (LVI). None of the nonbudding cases had LVI and perineural invasion (PNI). Statistical analysis revealed that LVI and PNI were signifi cantly associated with budding (P = 0.017 and P = 0.012). Among the tumors showing budding, 37% had lymph node metastasis (LNM). In nonbudding cases 15% had LNM. There was a statistically significant correlation between LNM and budding (P = 0.017). None of the parameters correlated with grade of tumor budding statistically. Conclusion: The results of this study suggest that tumor budding might be used as a prognostic factor in laryngeal SCCs.