Oral and oropharyngeal cancer: epidemiology and survival analysis

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the epidemiological profile and survival rate of oral and oropharyngeal cancer patients seen at a university hospital. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was carried out by means of the pathological reports of patients with oral and oropharyngeal cancer, seen at a university hospital of the Southern Region, between January 2004 and December 2014. Information was collected on patients and tumors. The mortality rate was gathered from the patient death registry in the Mortality Information System. Data were analyzed using the Kaplan-Meier survival curve and the log-rank test to compare variables. RESULTS: The 5- and 10-year survival rates were 42% and 38%, respectively. The anatomical location had a significant association with survival rate (p=0.001), with the rates were better in the lips (p=0.04), and worse in the oropharynx (p=0.03). There were no statistically significant differences between survival rates according to age, sex, ethnicity, schooling level and histologic grade. CONCLUSION: The survival rates of oral and oropharyngeal cancer were and associated with the anatomical site of the tumor.