Background Oral (mobile) tongue squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) is characterized by a highly variable prognosis in early‐stage disease (T1/T2 N0M0). The ability to classify early oral tongue SCCs into low‐risk and high‐risk categories would represent a major advancement in their management. Methods Depth of invasion, tumor budding, histologic risk‐assessment score (HRS), and cancer‐associated fibroblast (CAF) density were studied in 233 cases of T1/T2 N0M0 oral tongue SCC managed in 5 university hospitals in Finland. Results Tumor budding (≥5 clusters at the invasive front of the tumor) and depth of invasion (≥4 mm) were associated with poor prognosis in patients with early oral tongue SCC (hazard ratio [HR], 2.04; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.17–3.55; HR, 2.55; 95% CI, 1.25–5.20, respectively) after multivariate analysis. The HRS and CAF density did not predict survival. However, high‐risk worst pattern of invasion (WPOI), a component of HRS, was also an independent prognostic factor (HR, 4.47; 95% CI, 1.59–12.51). Conclusion Analyzing the depth of invasion, tumor budding, and/or WPOI in prognostication and treatment planning of T1/T2 N0M0 oral tongue SCC is recommended. © 2013 The Authors. Head Neck, 2013

Objective: Evaluate the existing literature comparing long-term survival after minimally invasive esophagectomy (MIE) and open esophagectomy (OE), and conduct a meta-analysis based on relevant studies. Background: It is unknown whether the choice between MIE and OE influences the long-term survival in esophageal cancer. Methods: A systematic electronic search for articles was performed in Medline, Embase, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library for studies comparing long-term survival after MIE and OE. Additionally, an extensive hand-search was conducted. The I ² test and χ² test were used to test for statistical heterogeneity. Publication bias and small-study effects were assessed using Egger test. A random-effects meta-analysis was performed for all-cause 5-year (main outcome) and 3-year mortality, and disease-specific 5-year and 3-year mortality. Meta-regression was performed for the 5-year mortality outcomes with adjustment for the covariates age, physical status, tumor stage, and neoadjuvant or adjuvant therapy. The results were presented as hazard ratios (HRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Results: The review identified 55 relevant studies. Among all 14,592 patients, 7358 (50.4%) underwent MIE and 7234 (49.6%) underwent OE. The statistical heterogeneity was limited [I ² = 12%, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0%–41%, and χ² = 0.26] and the funnel plot was symmetrical both according to visual and statistical testing (Egger test = 0.32). Pooled analysis revealed 18% lower 5-year all-cause mortality after MIE compared with OE (HR 0.82, 95% CI 0.76–0.88). The meta-regression indicated no confounding. Conclusions: The long-term survival after MIE compares well with OE and may even be better. Thus, MIE can be recommended as a standard surgical approach for esophageal cancer.

Background Tumour microenvironment, including tumour–stroma ratio (TSR), might help identifying high-risk cancer patients. However, the significance of TSR in gastric cancer is unclear, especially in the intestinal and diffuse subtypes. The aim of this study was to investigate the tumour–stroma ratio in gastric adenocarcinoma, and its intestinal and diffuse histological subtypes, in relation to prognosis. Methods Five hundred and eighty-three gastric adenocarcinoma patients who underwent surgery in Oulu University hospital during years 1983–2016 were included in this retrospective cohort study. TSR was analysed from the slides that were originally used for diagnostic purposes. Patients were divided into stroma-poor (≤50% stroma) and stroma-rich (>50% stroma) groups and TSR was analysed in relation to 5-year mortality and overall mortality. Results Patients with stroma-rich tumours had worse 5-year prognosis (HR 1.80, 95% CI 1.41–2.28) compared to stroma-poor tumours. Stratified analysis showed that stroma-rich tumours had worse 5-year prognosis in both intestinal (HR 1.68, 95% CI 1.24–2.27) and diffuse histological types (HR 2.09, 95% CI 1.35–3.23) compared to stroma-poor tumours, respectively. Conclusions High proportion of stroma is an independent prognostic factor in both intestinal and diffuse histological subtypes of gastric adenocarcinoma.

Background Gastric adenocarcinoma is the second most common cancer-related death globally. Assessing survival trends can help evaluate changes in detection and treatment. We aimed to determine recent...