Prognostic impact of lymphovascular and perineural invasion in squamous cell carcinoma of the tongue

This study aimed to investigate the prognostic impact of lymphovascular and perineural invasions in patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the tongue who received surgery-based treatment at our institution between January 2013 and December 2020. Patients were divided into four groups based on the presence of perineural (P−/P +) and lymphovascular invasions (V−/V +): P–V−, P–V + , P + V−, and P + V + . Log-rank and Cox proportional hazard models were used to evaluate the association between perineural /lymphovascular invasion and overall survival (OS). Altogether, 127 patients were included, and 95 (74.8%), 8 (6.3%), 18 (14.2%), and 6 (4.7%) cases were classified as P–V−, P–V + , P + V−, and P + V + , respectively. Pathologic N stage (pN stage), tumor stage, histological grade, lymphovascular invasion, perineural invasion, and postoperative radiotherapy were significantly associated with OS (p < 0.05). OS was significantly different among the four groups (p < 0.05). Significant between-group differences in OS were detected for node-positive (p < 0.05) and stage III–IV (p < 0.05) cases. OS was the worst in the P + V + group. Lymphovascular and perineural invasions are independent negative prognostic factors for squamous cell carcinoma of the tongue. Patients with lymphovascular and/or perineural invasion may have significantly poorer overall survival than those without neurovascular involvement.