Correlation between radiologic depth of invasion and pathologic depth of invasion in oral cavity squamous cell carcinoma: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Objectives: To comprehensively assess the correlation between radiologic depth of invasion (rDOI) and pathologic depth of invasion (pDOI) in oral cavity squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) by meta-analysis. Materials and Methods: PubMed and Embase databases were searched to find pertinent articles reporting rDOI of OSCC. Studies evaluating the correlations and mean differences (MDs) between rDOI and pDOI were included. The rDOI was measured based on ultrasound (US), computed tomography (CT), or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The correlation coefficients and MDs between rDOI and pDOI were meta-analytically pooled. Between-study heterogeneity was assessed using Higgins’ inconsistency index (I²). Subgroup analysis was performed based on imaging modality. Results: Twenty-three studies with 1787 patients were included. The pooled correlation coefficient and MD were 0.86 (95 % confidence interval [CI], 0.82–0.90; I² = 66.9 %) and 1.84 mm (95 % CI, 1.02–2.65 mm; I² = 88.2 %), respectively. In subgroup analysis, MRI showed the largest MD (n = 12, 2.61 mm), followed by US (n = 2, –0.41 mm) and CT (n = 2, 0.12 mm). US showed the highest correlation coefficient (n = 3, 0.91), followed by MRI (n = 12, 0.85) and CT (n = 3, 0.82). Conclusion: rDOI measured by US, CT, and MRI demonstrated excellent correlations with pDOI.