Clinical features and evolution of oral cancer: A study of 274 cases in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

UNLABELLED: Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma has a low survival rate, 34 to 66% five-year survival after initial diagnosis, due to late diagnosis.

OBJECTIVES

The aim of the present study was to examine the clinical features and evolution of oral cancer in the University of Buenos Aires.

STUDY

DESIGN

274 patients with primary oral carcinoma, over the 1992-2000 period were included in the study.

RESULTS

The survival rate of this population was 80% at 12 months, 60% at 24 months, 46% at 36 months, 40% at 48 months, and 39% at 60 months (5 years). The tumor localizations with worse prognosis were floor of mouth and tongue, with survival rates of 19% and 27% respectively. Sixty-five percent of the oral carcinomas evaluated were diagnosed at advanced stages (III and IV).

CONCLUSIONS

The patients under study exhibited the lowest survival rate described for oral cancer (34% five-year survival after initial diagnosis). The population included in this study can be considered representative of the Argentine population. This bad prognosis would be mainly due to the large number of oral cancer cases that were diagnosed at advanced stages.