Verrucous oral carcinoma: clinical findings and treatment outcomes in 74 patients in Northwest Italy

Abstract

Aim: Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is an extremely invasive tumour of stratified squamous epithelium that spreads throughout degradation of the basement membrane (BM) and extracellular matrix (ECM). Oral verrucous carcinoma (VC) is a rare low-grade variant of OSCC. VC has a different clinical behaviour from classical OSCC and the optimal treatment is controversial. This report analyses the clinical features and outcomes in patients undergoing treatment for oral VC.

Methods: A group of 74 Northern Italian patients were studied; for each patient, agreement of histological diagnosis, age and gender, risk factors, tumor site, T classification, treatment, outcome and survival rate were examined and analysed statistically.

Results: The survival rate was 93.65% at 5 years and 83.44% at 10 years. Retrospective analysis showed no risk of cervical lymph node metastasis and surgical treatment results were good.

Conclusion: Our survival rates showed a good prognosis, with no risk of cervical lymph node metastases, suggesting that most cases can be controlled by surgery alone.