Depth of Invasion Predicts Contralateral Lymph Node Metastasis in Lateralized Oral Tongue Squamous Cell Carcinoma

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This retrospective cohort study examined the association between depth of invasion and contralateral nodal disease in lateral oral tongue squamous cell carcinoma.
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The study included surgically treated patients at a single tertiary academic center from 1998 through 2021.
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Contralateral nodal disease included metastasis present at diagnosis or recurrence in the opposite neck after treatment.
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Two anatomic pathologists reassessed each specimen’s depth of invasion using the AJCC eighth-edition definition, and cases with discrepant measurements were excluded.
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The investigators evaluated DOI thresholds from 0 to 14 mm in 0.1-mm increments using logistic regression to assess contralateral spread.

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