title: Analysis of the epidemiological features of oral cancer in the city of Buenos Aires.
abstract: Oral cancer comprises 0.6 to 5% of all human malignant tumors. It is accepted in the literature that the clinical evolution of oral cancer has a bad prognosis, i.e. the five year survival rate ranges from 34% to 56%. The aim of the present study was to present a metaanalysis of the most relevant publications on oral cancer in the city of Buenos Aires, including our own series. The publications reviewed herein include the following series: 517 cases (1950-1970), 243 cases (1961-1968), 336 cases (1972-1984), and 274 cases (1992-2000). The clinical end-points evaluated were: age, distribution by sex, tumor site, presence of metastatic adenopathies, and clinical stage. A comparative statistical evaluation of the clinical parameters assessed was performed. Survival was evaluated by the test of Kaplan-Meier. The male/female ratio was 7.1:1 for the 1950-1970 period, 4.3:1 for the 1961-1968 period; 2.3:1 for the 1972-1984 period; and 1.24:1 in our series (1992-2000). The most frequent tumor site (21 to 35% of the cases) was the tongue. At the time of diagnosis, 60-71% of the patients had advanced TNM clinical stages (III and IV). Our follow-up revealed a five-year survival rate after diagnosis of 39%. The overall analysis of all the cases corresponding to the 1950-2000 period revealed that the prevalence of oral cancer in women has risen alarmingly and that the percentage of patients with advanced stages of tumor development continues to be high.
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral Medicine, Faculty of Dentistry, University Buenos Aires, Argentina. brandizz@cnea.gov.ar
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Brandizzi
authors.forename: Jorge A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Chuchurru
authors.forename: Héctor E
authors.initials: HE
authors.lastname: Lanfranchi
authors.forename: Rómulo L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Cabrini
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001118:Argentina / Q000453:epidemiology; D016021:Epidemiologic Studies; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009062:Mouth Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000401:mortality; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D015995:Prevalence; D012737:Sex Factors; D015996:Survival Rate; D014062:Tongue Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology; D014504:Urban Health / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*