HISTOLOGY AND HISTOPATHOLOGY

From Cell Biology to Tissue Engineering

 

Oral sarcomatoid squamous cell carcinoma: a retrospective study based on 14 cases

Jialiang Liu1,2, Meng Xiao1,2 and Yan'an Wang1,2

1Department of Oral and Maxillofacial-Head and Neck Oncology, Shanghai Ninth People's Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, School of Medicine and 2Shanghai Key Laboratory of Stomatology and Shanghai Research Institute of Stomatology, Shanghai, China

Offprint requests to: Dr. Yan'an Wang and Dr. Meng Xiao, Department of Oral and Maxillofacial-Head and Neck Oncology, Shanghai Ninth People's Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, School of Medicine, Shanghai 200011, China. e-mail: wangya1982@sh9hospital.org; xiaomeng70001@126.com


Summary. The treatment outcomes for oral sarcomatoid squamous cell carcinoma (OSSCC) are far from satisfactory in our hospital. The aim of this study was to retrospectively summarize the OSSCC cases admitted to our department. From 2003 to 2017, 14 patients were hospitalized and diagnosed with OSSCC. We summarized and analysed the medical histories, diagnostic examinations, treatment strategies, and clinical outcomes of the involved cases. Of the 14 cases, 8 were located in the gingiva. The imageological diagnosis identified the existence of a mass with an infiltrative morphology pre-operatively. The cytopathologic features revealed a malignant neoplasm with a mixture of squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) components and spindle cell neoplastic components. To confirm the diagnosis of OSSCC, the use of the immunohistochemical markers AE1/AE3 and Vimentin were more indicative. Complete follow-up data were available for 12 patients, and at the last follow-up, all 12 of the patients had died. The median overall survival for these patients was 11.67 months (range: 3-24 months). OSSCC patients respond poorly to the strategies solely referring to experiences from oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) treatment. The effective diagnosis and treatment of OSSCC at an early stage is necessary. The treatment for OSSCC still poses a great challenge for clinical oncologists. Histol Histopathol 35, 385-394 (2020)

Key words: Sarcomatoid squamous cell carcinoma, Diagnosis, Treatment, Prognosis

DOI: 10.14670/HH-18-176