Prognostic and predictive markers for oral squamous cell carcinoma: The importance of clinical, pathological and molecular markers

The overall 5-year survival rate following treatment for oral squamous cell carcinoma is around 50% in most published series. The major prognostic factors are stage at the time of diagnosis, unexpected close margins at resection, depth and pattern of tissue invasion by carcinoma and extracapsular spread. Grading by gross histological differentiation does not influence prognosis, unless deeply invasive margins are evaluated by the pathologist. Because stage at diagnosis is the most important factor affecting outcome, early detection results in better prognosis in most cases.