Evaluation of tumour budding as a prognostic marker in oral squamous cell carcinoma

OralSquamous Cell Carcinoma (OSCC) is the most common epithelial malignancy of theoral cavity. Since the age old era, many histopathological parameters liketumour size, depth of invasion, etc. are studied as prognostic indicators. Butthe overall 5-year survival rate of OSCC has still not improved. Seeing theburden of disease, there is a need to study other prognostic markers. Anemerging histopathological marker for tumour invasion and metastasis is tumourbudding (TB), defined as an isolated tumours cells or small clusters (<5cells) of tumour cells present in the stroma along the invasive margin of thetumour. Its role has already been established as an independent prognosticfactor in colorectal, lung, and breast carcinoma. However, very few studieshighlight its role in OSCC. TB is considered as a histopathological marker ofloss of cellular adhesion, and thus, it is closely associated withepithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), which is the hallmark of invasion andmetastasis. This study will help to understand the tumour budding in OSCC, itscorrelation with grade and stage of tumour and with EMT phenomenon, whichpromotes invasion and distant metastasis, leading to decrease in overall survivalrate.