Background: Non-smoking, non-drinking (NSND) oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is increasingly recognized, yet its clinicopathologic and immune-related correlates remain incompletely defined. Methods: We retrospectively studied 243 surgically treated patients with previously untreated primary OSCC (2011–2020). Patients were classified as NSND or smoking and/or drinking (SD). Immune-modulating conditions and preoperative systemic immune–inflammatory indices (NLR, LMR, SIRI, AISI) were assessed, and overall (OS) and disease-specific survival (DSS) were analyzed. Results: Eighty-five patients (35.0%) were NSND. NSND patients were more often female (58.8% vs. 12.7%) and slightly older (median 54 vs. 50 years). Subsite distribution differed (p 50 years (79.2%). NSND patients showed lower NLR (p = 0.01), lower SIRI and AISI (p < 0.001), and higher LMR (p < 0.001). Median OS was 81.2 months; NSND showed a trend toward improved OS (p = 0.083) and improved OS after age/sex adjustment (HR 0.64, 95% CI 0.42–0.98), but not after full clinicopathologic adjustment; DSS did not differ (p = 0.59). Conclusions: NSND OSCC exhibits a distinct clinicopathologic presentation and is strongly associated with immune-modulating comorbidity and lower tumor-associated systemic inflammatory indices, consistent with an immune-modulated clinical phenotype.
Tarle et al. (2026) studied this question.