Figure 2: High normalized nerve density (IND/T-AND) independently associates with poor survival in tongue SCC.
A and B, High IND in the tongue associates with poor DSS, for both number (A) and area (B) of nerves. C and D, High NND in the tongue associates with poor DSS when calculated using number (C) and area (D) of nerves. Kaplan-Meier survival curves with log-rank statistics are shown in A through D; patients are split by tertiles of IND or NND and the number of patients at risk for each time point is shown below each plot. (E) Adjusted Cox modeling of DDS. Data is adjusted for tumor clinical stage (AJCC 7th edition), differentiation and comorbidities. Significant HRs at p<0.05 are shown in bold and depicted in blue. IND and NND values were log-transformed to fit the model. HR= Hazard ratio.