Nutritional factors and survival of patients with oral cancer.
BACKGROUND
Our objective was to determine the survival rate of patients with oral cancer who were treated at a medical center in central Taiwan. Furthermore, we attempted to investigate whether nutritional factors influence the survival.


METHODS
We carried out a retrospective review of 1010 chart records of patients with oral cancer. We used the Kaplan-Meier method for survival analysis and the Cox proportional hazard models to investigate the prognosticators.


RESULTS
Kaplan-Meier survival analysis showed an overall 5-year survival rate of 63.24%. The Cox proportional hazard model revealed that those with a preoperative body mass index (BMI) of <22.8 kg/m(2) tended to have a higher probability of death (relative risk [RR] = 1.292, p = .022). In addition, those with a preoperative serum albumin level of <4.15 g/dL were generally associated with a poorer prognosis (RR = 1.313, p = .016).


CONCLUSIONS
Apart from clinical features, nutritional factors also had a significant influence on the survival of patients with oral cancer. Therefore, good nutritional status is crucial for patients with oral cancer in improving their survival.
Liu
Shih-An
SA
Department of Otolaryngology, Taichung Veterans General Hospital, No. 160, Section 3, Taichung Harbor Road, Taichung 40705, Taiwan. an1654@seed.net.tw
Tsai
Wen-Chen
WC
Wong
Yong-Kie
YK
Lin
Jin-Ching
JC
Poon
Chiu-Kwan
CK
Chao
Shou-Yee
SY
Hsiao
Ying-Lyung
YL
Chan
Man-Yee
MY
Cheng
Chi-Sheng
CS
Wang
Chen-Chi
CC
Wang
Ching-Ping
CP
D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D015992:Body Mass Index; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D053208:Kaplan-Meier Estimate; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009062:Mouth Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000401:mortality*; D009752:Nutritional Status; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012709:Serum Albumin
D012709:Serum Albumin