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Objective: To compare the levels of social support, physical function, and social-emotional function between oral cavity cancer survivors who did or did not resume work 6 months or longer after treatment completion.Methods: This cross-sectional study examined survivors of oral cavity cancer who were treated at the outpatient radiation department of a medical center in Northern Taiwan. Questionnaires were used to collect data regarding perceived social support, physical function, social-emotional function, and return to work status after treatment. Logistic regression was conducted to determine factors related to returning to work.Results: We examined 174 survivors of oral cavity cancer, 55.2% of whom returned to work after treatment. Relative to survivors who returned to work, those who did not return to work reported needing greater tangible social support, having fewer positive social interactions, having poorer physical function, and having poorer social-emotional function. Multivariable analysis indicated that younger age (OR = 0.864, P < .05), higher family income (OR = 10.835, P < .05), sufficient tangible social support (OR = 0.943, P < .05), positive social interaction (OR = 1.025, P < .05), and better physical function (OR = 1.062, P < .05) were significantly associated with the return to work.Conclusions: Survivors of oral cavity cancer who did not return to work had worse physical and social-emotional function and required more tangible social support and positive social interactions. Providing occupational rehabilitation and counseling for oral cavity cancer survivors may help them return to work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: In Taiwan, the median age of diagnosis for oral cavity cancer is 51 year old, which is about 10 years earlier than that in Western countries. A recent study assessing the effect of marriage on outcomes for elderly oral cavity cancer patients (≥66 years old) showed that marriage was associated with better survival. However, little is known about the prognostic significance of marital status in oral cavity cancer patients aged 65 years and younger.Methods: Data from 2007 to 2014 were collected from the Cancer Registry Dataset of the Kaohsiung Veterans General Hospital. We reviewed the records of all newly diagnosed patients with oral cavity cancer who were aged 65 years and younger and being treated by primary surgery with or without neck dissection or adjuvant therapy. None of the included patients had distant metastasis upon diagnosis. In total, 457 patients were indentified. We used multivariate Cox regression model to evaluate the effect of marriage on disease-specific survival rates after adjusting for demographic variables and treatments.Results: There was no significant difference between the married and unmarried groups in stage at diagnosis or treatment. The 5-year disease-specific survival was 70.9% in the married group and 51.2% in the unmarried group (P=0.001). Multivariate analysis with Cox regression showed that unmarried patients had worse disease-specific survival (unmarried, adjusted hazard ratio [aHR] 1.51, 95% CI: 1.06-2.16). Subgroup analysis among patients stratified by the independent factors in multivariate analysis revealed that being unmarried was associated with a trend of worse survival in most stratified groups.Conclusion: Marriage was associated with better disease-specific survival for oral cavity cancer patients aged 65 years and younger. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: The aims of this study of people with oral cavity cancer were to compare the social support, depression, nicotine dependence, physical function and social-emotional function of those who continued smoking with those who quit smoking, by matching age and survival time and to identify the predictors of continued smoking during the survival period. Background: People who continue to smoke after cancer treatment may have an impact on treatment response and survival. Design: A cross-sectional survey was conducted. Methods: This study compared 92 people with oral cavity cancer who continued smoking with 92 people who quit smoking, with matching for age and survival time between January 2015 - November 2015. Conditional logistic regression analysis was used to compare the two groups. Results: The quit smoking group had significantly more social support, less depression and greater social-emotional function than the continued smoking group. People who were unmarried, received surgery without reconstruction, had poor social support and had poor social-emotional function were more likely to continue smoking. Conclusions: People with oral cavity cancer were more likely to continue smoking after the treatment if they had low social support, depression, greater nicotine dependence and poor social-emotional function. Healthcare professionals should pay more attention to social support, psychological status and nicotine dependence of people who were treated for oral cavity cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Radiation therapy (RT) and concurrent chemotherapy RT (CCRT) generate radiation‐induced oral mucositis (OM) and lower quality of life (QOL). This study assessed the impact of a saline mouth rinse regimen and education programme on radiation‐induced OM symptoms, and QOL in oral cavity cancer (OCC) patients receiving RT or CCRT. Ninety‐one OCC patients were randomly divided into a group that received saline mouth rinses and an education programme and a control group that received standard care. OM symptoms and QOL were assessed with the WHO Oral Toxicity Scale, MSS‐moo and UW‐QOL. Data were collected at the first postoperative visit to the radiation department (T0) and at 4 weeks and 8 weeks after beginning RT or CCRT. Patients in both groups had significantly higher levels of physical and social‐emotional QOL at 8 weeks after beginning RT or CCRT compared to the first visit. Patients in the saline rinse group had significantly better physical and social‐emotional QOL as compared to the standard care group at 8 weeks. Radiation‐induced OM symptoms and overall QOL were not different between the groups. We thus conclude the saline rinse and education programme promote better physical and social‐emotional QOL in OCC patients receiving RT/CCRT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary Objectives The aim of this study was to investigate the association between multidisciplinary team (MDT) management and survival of oral cavity cancer patients using a nationwide database in Taiwan. Materials and methods A nationwide cohort study was conducted between 2005 and 2008. The follow-up end point was 2010. Claims data of oral cavity cancer patients were retrieved from the Taiwan Cancer Registry Database. Secondary data were obtained from the Taiwan’s National Health Insurance Research Database. Among 19,766 newly diagnosed oral cavity cancer patients, we identified 16,991 patients who underwent treatment between 2004 and 2008 for further analyses. Results Overall survival was compared between patients who received MDT management ( n = 3324) and those who did not ( n = 13,367). Hazard ratios (HR) of death in patients with MDT management were also analyzed. Patients with MDT management had a lower risk of death when compared with that of patients without MDT management (HR: 0.94, 95% confidence intervals (CI): 0.89–1.00; P = 0.032). The effect of MDT management on survival was stronger for male patients than for female patients (HR: 0.94, 95% CI: 0.89–1.00; P = 0.040 versus HR: 0.98, 95% CI: 0.75–1.27; P = 0.866). In addition, the effect of MDT management was strong among patients with a Charlson Comorbidity Index between 4 and 6, in those without coexisting catastrophic illness/injury, and in patients with stage IV diseases. Conclusion Survival rates in oral cavity cancer patients with MDT management appeared to be marginally better than those of patients without MDT management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Oral Diseases (2012) 18, 809-815 Objective: The infection of human papilloma virus (HPV) has been reported in head and neck cancer; however, the clinical significance of HPV infection on the pathogenesis of oral cavity squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is still uncertain. Materials and Methods: The study recruited 103 patients with pathological early-stage OSCC between March 1997 and December 2003 from Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Taiwan. Tumor specimens were HPV-genotyped by the EasychipVR HPV Blot method. Clinical association study was performed by using chi-square, Kaplan-Meier, and logrank tests. Results: Thirty-one patients (30.1%) were positive for HPV infection. The most frequent HPV types were types 16 (16 patients, 51.6%) and 18 (seven patients, 22.6%). HPV infection was not associated with tumor aggressiveness (pathological tumor stage or differentiation status), risk exposure (alcohol, cigarette, or areca quid chewing habit), or the treatment outcome (disease-free survival or overall survival). However, infection with HPV-18 was associated with the occurrence of a second primary cancers ( P = 0.033), indicating the infection of HPV in OSCC enhances the susceptibility of developing secondary malignancy. Conclusions: There are 30% of the patients with OSCC infected with HPV, with most high-risk types. HPV-18 infection may enhance the susceptibility of second primary tumors. Large scale of validation study will be needed to confirm this result. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Objectives: The incidence of oral cavity cancer is high in Taiwan. To improve patient survival, multidisciplinary team (MDT) care was implemented. This research compared the survival of MDT care participants/non-participants and examined the effect of MDT care on patient characteristics. Materials and Methods: In this study, 19,513 patients with newly diagnosed oral cavity cancer were recruited from 2004 to 2007 in Taiwan. Matching based on the propensity of receiving MDT care was used. In total, 9297 patients were observed until 2008. A Cox proportional hazards model was applied to elucidate the relative risks of death. Results: The relative risk of death was lower for patients with MDT care than for those without such care (HR=0.84; 95% CI=0.78–0.90). Males had a higher risk of death than females (HR=1.20; 95%CI=1.04–1.38). Older age, lower income, and more severe comorbidity were associated with a higher risk of death. The effect of MDT care was stronger for older patients than for younger patients. Patients treated in public hospitals had a 1.24-fold (95%CI=1.13–1.36) higher risk of death than patients treated in private hospitals. Patients treated in hospitals or by attending physicians with higher service volumes had a lower relative risk of death (HR=0.89 and 0.78, respectively). The effect of MDT care was strong among patients with less severe comorbidities and patients without catastrophic illnesses. Conclusion: The relative risk of death was lower for MDT care participants. The effect of MDT care was stronger among older patients and patients with fewer comorbidities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Non-metastatic stage IV oral cavity cancer patients undergoing concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) are at risk of malnutrition because of postoperative eating problems and CCRT-related complications. A high percentage of betel quid use, which is associated with metabolic disorders, is found in oral cavity cancer patients in Taiwan. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effect of an early and intensive nutritional support program, comprising individualized counseling, nasogastric tube feeding, and mandatory hospitalization, throughout the CCRT period for such cases in an area where betel quid use is prevalent. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 35 patients with nutritional support (NI) and 23 patients with no specifically designed nutrition program (NC). Results: The NI group had better maintenance of body weight ( p < 0.001) and higher serum albumin levels ( p < 0.002) than the NC group. There was no difference in the total dose of radiation completed in the two groups; in contrast, the percentage of NI group patients who had radiation therapy (RT) breaks was lower and who completed planned chemotherapy was higher than in the NC group. Furthermore, more NC group patients suffered from sepsis during the treatment period, and fewer were alive 2 years after treatment. Conclusions: An early and intensive nutrition support may be beneficial to minimizing body weight loss, offering better treatment tolerance and probable survival benefits for patients with non-metastatic stage IV oral cavity cancers undergoing CCRT in endemic betel quid chewing areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background/aim: Oral cavity cancer is a major health problem worldwide. The herpes zoster vaccine is an effective method to protect against herpes zoster infection. In this study we aimed to determine the relationship between herpes zoster and oral cavity cancer., Patients and Methods: The Longitudinal Generation Tracking Database in Taiwan was used to select oral and non-oral cavity cancer patients. The primary endpoint was herpes zoster., Results: We included 3131 oral cavity cancer patients and 3131 non-oral cavity cancer patients. Patients with oral cavity cancer [adjusted hazard ratio (HR)=1.66, 95% confidence interval (CI)=1.27-2.16] had a significantly higher risk of herpes zoster compared to the control group. The oral cavity patients who received radiotherapy (adjusted HR=1.79, 95%CI=1.12-2.86) had a significantly higher risk of herpes zoster compared to the oral cavity patients who did not receive radiotherapy., Conclusion: Radiotherapy increases the incidence of herpes zoster infection in oral cavity cancer patients., (Copyright © 2021 International Institute of Anticancer Research (Dr. George J. Delinasios), All rights reserved.)

Background: This study aimed to evaluate the association between pioglitazone use and the occurrence of head and neck cancer., Methods: Data for this case-control study were retrieved from the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database. A total of 21 464 diabetic patients newly diagnosed with head and neck cancers were identified. We used propensity score matching to select 64 392 comparison patients (3:1 ratio). Multiple logistic regression modeling was used to examine the association of head and neck cancer with pioglitazone use in the 5 years preceding the cancer diagnosis., Results: Bivariate analysis showed a significant difference in the prevalence of prior using pioglitazone between cases and controls (19.3% vs 18.5%, P < .001) was observed. Multiple regression analysis showed adjusted odds of pioglitazone use of 1.06 (95% CI: 1.02-1.10) among cases relative to controls., Conclusions: Prior pioglitazone use was associated with oral cavity cancer., (© 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

Purpose: Radiation-induced oral mucositis (OM) is the most debilitating side effect of radiation treatment in oral cavity cancer. The purpose of the study was to investigate change of prevalence of severe OM, OM-related symptoms, and predictors in oral cavity cancer patients during active treatment., Methods and Sample: Longitudinal study design with repeated measures was used. Patients with oral cavity cancer were recruited from a head and neck outpatient radiation department at a major medical center in Taiwan. Patients' OM-related symptoms were measured at three time points. Patients' oral mucosa was assessed at nine time points. Generalized estimating equations (GEE) were used to analyze the predictive factors of prevalence of severe OM and OM-related symptoms., Results: Patients reported highest prevalence of severe OM at T5 (5 weeks after beginning RT) and T6 (6 weeks after beginning radiation therapy, RT), with the combined chemotherapy and RT (CCRT) patients reporting a higher prevalence than those receiving RT alone. The peak of OM-related symptoms was at T8 (8 week after beginning RT), with primary symptoms of mouth pain, mouth dryness, eating difficulties, swallowing difficulties, and taste change. Patients with CCRT, a higher cumulative radiation dose, smoking, and lower body mass index (BMI) were at high risk to develop severe OM. OM-related symptoms were predicted by type of treatment, cumulative radiation dose, and smoking., Conclusions: Patients with oral cavity cancer suffer from OM and OM-related symptoms during aggressive RT or CCRT. Patient-specific oral care and emotional support are needed to relieve distressful OM-related symptoms during active treatment., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)