Oral cancer at a Tasmanian tertiary referral clinic, the Royal Hobart Hospital 1996-2002

Abstract

Background: The Holman Clinic at the Royal Hobart Hospital includes a multi-disciplinary head and neck clinic which functions as a tertiary referral centre for Southern Tasmania and involves Ear Nose and Throat surgeons, Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons, Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeons, Radiation Oncologists and Medical Oncologists. Methods: The aim of this study was to examine retrospectively the number, gender distribution, age, site of lesion, histology, mortality and treatment modalities of the oral cancers referred to the Holman clinic at the Royal Hobart Hospital. The medical histories and a database of the Holman clinic were used as the sources of data for this study. A total of 101 patients were treated for oral cancer in the Holman clinic at the Royal Hobart Hospital from 1996 to 2002. There were 64 males and 37 females. Results: The distribution of anatomical sites of the oral cancers in this study was as follows: 36 oral tongue lesions, 17 floor of mouth, 13 lip, five retromolar trigone, five mandibular alveolus, six buccal mucosa, nine palatal and 10 minor and major salivary gland cancers. The most common site of oral cancer was the tongue (35.6 per cent), followed by the floor of mouth (16.8 per cent) and lip (12.9 per cent). Conclusions: The majority of oral cancers were squamous cell carcinoma, except for the salivary gland cancers. The incidence of squamous cell carcinoma was between 67 and 100 per cent, depending upon the site involved. The trends found in this study are similar to those previously documented over the past 20 years.