Epidemiological Profile of Patients Diagnosed with Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma in Passo Fundo, Brazil

Abstract

Introduction: The squamous cell carcinoma is a pathology accounting for 90% of all the malignant tumors found in the oral cavity. Objective: This study aimed to assess the epidemiological profile, treatment, and survival of patients diagnosed with oral squamous cell carcinoma at a reference hospital of the northern region of the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Method: Retrospective observational study with analysis of the patients’ charts diagnosed with this condition from 1993 to 2008 at this hospital database. The data collected were analyzed using the statistical program SPSS version 18 using parametric and non-parametric tests. Results: From the 303 charts analyzed, 88.4% were men, Caucasian, leukoderma, with higher incidence in the age range between 51 to 60 years old. The association of alcohol with tobacco was detected in 84.7% of the patients. The most affected site was the tongue (45.5%), and most of the cases were diagnosed in late stage III and IV, with survival of 17.83 months. Although surgical treatment has been performed more frequently (55.9%) and presented higher survival rates, its statistical significance in comparison with other treatments was not demonstrated (p=0.185). Conclusion: The epidemiological profile of patients is very similar to the charts of several countries. In the present case, the late diagnosis significantly decreased life expectancy of patients (2.5-fold), and that the treatment, and the initial site of the lesion had no significant influence on survival.