A histological grading of malignancy of squamous cell carcinoma of the tongue

Summary A new system for the histological grading of malignancy was ultilized in 91 cases of squamous cell carcinomas of the anterior 2/3 of the tongue which were treated initially by radiotherapy at Osaka University Hospital from 1967 to 1980. Three different morphological parameters were evaluated with respect to the tumor, cell population estimated in terms of a four-point scale. A correlation was found between the degree of histological malignancy and the incidence of neck node metastasis. Furthermore, a statistical significance was valid on the survival rates between the group according to the histological grading. At present, prophylactic neck dissection is encouraged, especially for the highly malignant cases.