Volume-corrected mitotic index as a prognostic factor in oral squamous cell carcinomas.

In order to predict the prognosis of patients with oral squamous cell carcinomas, volume-corrected mitotic index (M/V index), as well as histopathological and clinical indices were estimated in 50 oral squamous cell carcinoma tumors. Histological malignancy (P = 0.0005), mode of invasion (P = 0.0168) and M/V index (P = 0.0093) showed a significant correlation with survival according to univariate survival analysis. According to multivariate survival analysis (Cox's regression model), the M/V index was the best predictor of the techniques studied of patient prognosis. The M/V index also showed significant correlation with DNA ploidy. The present results suggest that the M/V index is an important prognostic factor for oral carcinoma. Furthermore, the M/V index and DNA ploidy appear to provide similar prognostic information.