Clinical and epidemiological features of oral cancer in a medical school teaching hospital from 1994 to 2002: increasing incidence in women, predominance of advanced local disease, and low incidence of neck metastases.
OBJECTIVE
Description of clinical and epidemiological characteristics of patients who underwent surgery for oral cancer in a Medical School Teaching Hospital, and determination of differences with respect to other institutions and/or periods of time.


METHODS
The charts of patients undergoing surgery for oral cancer from 1994 to 2002 were reviewed. Data were collected in a spreadsheet in order to analyze clinical and epidemiological features..


RESULTS
A total of 374 patients having undergone 406 operations was identified. Their ages varied from 14 to 94 years (mean = 57.4 years), with 255 men (68.2%), and 295 out 366 Caucasian (80.6%). A majority had tumors of the tongue and/or floor of mouth (55.6%), while 20.3% had lip cancer. Squamous cell carcinoma was found in 90.3%, and glandular carcinoma in 4%. T4 tumors in 39.6%, Tis or T1 lesions in 15.2% of all patients. Nearly 62% had no regional metastases, and the relative incidence in young patients (40 years or younger) reached 8.6%.


CONCLUSIONS
In spite of the predominance of locally advanced tumors, a majority of patients had no neck metastases. The 31.8% incidence in females indicates an increasing incidence of oral cavity cancer among women when compared to previous periods at the same institution.
Durazzo
Marcelo D
MD
Head and Neck Service, Hospital das Clínicas, Faculty of Medicine, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil. mddurazzo@aol.com
de Araujo
Carlos Eugenio Nabuco
CE
Brandão Neto
José de Souza
Jde S
Potenza
André de Souza
Ade S
Costa
Pedro
P
Takeda
Flávio
F
Bianchi
Cristina
C
Tavares
Marcos R
MR
de Britto e Silva Filho
Gilberto
G
Ferraz
Alberto R
AR
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006258:Head and Neck Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000556:secondary; D006784:Hospitals, Teaching; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009062:Mouth Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D012189:Retrospective Studies