A 5-year Activity Report from the Oral Cancer Center, Tokyo Dental College

Abstract

The Tokyo Dental College Oral Cancer Center was established on April 1st, 2006 at our Ichikawa General Hospital for the purpose of providing multimodal treatment for oral cancer. This report summarizes the Center's activities over the last 5 years. The total number of oral cancer patients treated was 360 (April 2006 to March 2011), with 205 primary cases. We investigated the following treatment-related items: 1) site, 2) age, 3) sex, 4) pathological examination, 5) staging, 6) systemic disorder, 7) double cancer, 8) treatment, and 9) prognosis. Out of 205 patients, 60% were men and 40% were women. Men in their 60s and women in their 80s were seen the most. The most common site was the tongue, at 42%, followed by the mandibular gingiva, maxillary gingiva, oral floor, and buccal mucosa. Squamous cell carcinomas were seen most frequently, at 94% (15% were stage I, 33% stage II, 15% stage III, and 34% stage IV). The most common treatment method was surgical treatment, at 83%. The 5-year survival rate at all stages was 85.4%. At the Oral Cancer Center, oral surgeons take the initiative in establishing treatment in cooperation with other departments and branches. Since the establishment of the Ambulatory Center for Maxillary Prosthetics in October 2011, 26 patients have undergone treatment. Related departments and branches work in teams, enabling comprehensive treatment, from the preoperative state to postoperative functional recovery. We wish to use these strengths to improve oral cancer treatment in Japan and will continue to work toward providing the best possible care for our patients.

Older age is a risk factor associated with poor prognosis of patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the oral cavity

“…Considering that cancers of the oral cavity are highly frequent in southern Asia, the higher proportion in young people might indicate that the sociocultural lifestyle of the population, such as betel quid chewing and the use of tobacco and alcohol, plays an important role in this geographic or regional diversity [27]. In our study, the percentage of patients with early stage (Stage I-II, 50.68%) was lower than in western developed countries [20], but higher than other southern Asian regions (e.g., India, Thailand, Taiwan, and Japan) [11,14,17,19,[28][29][30]. It is suggested that low socioeconomic status or related patient factors (e.g., education, diet, health care, and living conditions) may increase the risk of OC-SCC.…”

Clinico-pathological prognosticators in oral squamous cell carcinoma

“…Published studies have demonstrated a decisive role of TNM staging in the prognostic outcome of oral cancer cases (Table 2). [22][23][24][25] Kreppel et al, in 392 oral cancer patients, showed that pTNM had a higher prognostic superiority than cTNM. 26 Other studies have also revealed a significant influence of TNM staging on prognosis and long-term survival.…”

FDG PET/CT for Management and Assessing Outcomes of Squamous Cell Cancer of the Oral Cavity

“…Together, oropharyngeal cancer and oral cavity cancer account for 85% of all head and neck cancers [1]. In the oral cavity, the oral portion of the tongue is the most common site, followed by mandibular gingiva, maxillary gingiva, floor of mouth, and buccal mucosa [2]. Cigarette smoking and alcohol consumption are risk factors commonly associated with oral cavity cancers [3,4].…”