title: Carcinoma of the buccal mucosa: analysis of clinical presentation, outcome and prognostic factors.
abstract: Records of 100 consecutive cases of carcinoma of the buccal mucosa treated in our institute between January 2000 and December 2003 were analyzed for clinical presentation, patterns of care, disease-free survival (DFS) and prognostic factors. There were 75 males and 25 females. The mean age was 50 years. Ninety five gave a history of abuse of oral tobacco products. Only 20 patients were in Stage I or II. Sixty one patients had Stage IV disease. Sixty six patients were treated with radical intent while 34 were suitable only for palliative radiation. The 2-year DFS for the entire group was 47.94%. All failures occurred by 12 months. However, the 2-year DFS in radically treated patients was 76.4%. On univariate analysis, late overall stage, T3/T4 disease, node positivity and palliative treatment were significant poor prognostic factors. On multivariate analysis, T3/T4 disease and palliative treatment were independent poor prognostic factors. Early detection can improve outcomes considerably in this disease.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiotherapy, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, India.
authors.forename: Sushmita
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ghoshal
authors.forename: Indranil
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Mallick
authors.forename: Naresh
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Panda
authors.forename: Suresh C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Sharma
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology / Q000628:therapy; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D004812:Epidemiologic Methods; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009061:Mouth Mucosa; D009062:Mouth Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology / Q000628:therapy; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D010166:Palliative Care; D011379:Prognosis; D014030:Tobacco, Smokeless / Q000009:adverse effects