Extrinsic lingual muscles in oral cancer
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Extrinsic lingual muscle involvement by oral squamous cell carcinoma
IRAS ID
188878
Contact name
Andrew W Barrett
Contact email
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 5 months, 31 days
Research summary
The muscles of the tongue comprise eight paired groups, four intrinsic and four extrinsic. The intrinsic muscles are located within the body of the tongue and change its shape. The extrinsic muscles originate outside the tongue and insert into it; these muscles move the tongue as well as change its shape. Invasion of the extrinsic lingual muscles is a criterion for the upstaging of cancers of the oral cavity. By identifying a number of anatomical landmarks, it is possible to deduce which muscles are present in histological sections and therefore state categorically whether they are involved by tumour. This might mean that some dimensionally small cancers, which would be graded early (T1) on size alone, are upgraded to advanced (T4a), thus affecting subsequent management of the patient. The aim of this study is to review a series of oral cancers which affected the tongue, noting whether there is involvement of the extrinsic lingual muscles on re-examination of an enlarged image of the histological section scanned onto a computer, and whether this would result in re-staging of the tumour.
REC name
HSC REC B
REC reference
15/NI/0208
Date of REC Opinion
28 Sep 2015
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion