Histological Types
Carcinomas constituted 81.5% of oral cancers in this series. (Table 2).
Age and Gender Distribution
Table 3 shows the gender and age distribution for all sites. Cancers of the palate and floor of the mouth showed the least age of occurrence (mean= 33.8 ? 19.6 years), with cancers of other sites occurring in the 5th and 6th decades of life. 92.6% of oral cancers were reported in patients aged 15 years and above, while only 5.6% were reported in patients aged 0 to 14 years (p<0.005).
HIV Status and AIDS-related Cancers
AIDS-related cancers (ARCs) identified in Africa are kaposi sarcoma and non-hodgkin?s lymphoma2.
Table 2. Age distribution of the histological types of oral cancers
|
Histological Types |
Age Groups (Years) and Gender |
TOTAL |
|||||
|
0-14 |
15-75+ |
Unspecified |
|||||
|
M |
F |
M |
F |
M |
F |
||
|
Carcinomas |
2 |
0 |
30 |
11 |
0 |
1 |
44 |
|
Sarcomas |
0 |
1 |
5 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
9 |
|
Lymphomas |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
|
TOTAL |
2 |
1 |
36 |
14 |
0 |
1 |
54 |
X2=0.040, df=1, p=0.842 (The category "Unspecified" was not included in the analysis and all histological types were merged due to the small numbers in these categories).
Table 3. Mean ages of occurence of cancers
|
Site |
Mean Age of Occurrence (Years) |
||
|
Males |
Females |
All Gender |
|
|
Tongue |
56.1 ? 17.5 |
48.4 ? 17.9 |
53.9 ? 17.5 |
|
Palate |
38.3 ? 19.5 |
23.5 ? 17.9 |
33.8 ? 19.6 |
|
Lip |
44.8 ? 26.5 |
38 ? 2.8 |
43.1 ? 22.7 |
|
Gingiva |
47.5 ? 10.6 |
------ |
47.5 ? 10.6 |
|
Buccal Mucosa |
------ |
52 ? 0.0 |
52 ? 0.0 |
|
Floor of Mouth |
38.3 ? 19.5 |
23.5 ? 17.9 |
33.8 ? 19.6 |
|
Unspecified Mouth |
54 ? 22.6 |
50.5 ? 0.7 |
52.3 ? 13.2 |
|
Kaposi Sarcoma |
55 ? 0.0 |
29.5 ? 0.7 |
38 ? 14.7 |
Four AIDS-related cancers, Kaposi sarcoma (75%) and non-hogkin?s lymphoma (25%) were reported. These constitute 7.4% of oral cancers and a yearly rate of 0.46%. Kaposi sarcoma was reported in the 4th decade of life, with a mean age of occurrence of 38 ? 14.7 years (males=55 ? SD years; females = 29.5 ? 0.7 years).
Duration of Symptoms
Cancers of the tongue were reported earliest, in comparison with patients with lip cancers who waited longest before reporting for treatment (Table 4).
Table 4. Duration of symptoms for different intra-oral sites and cancer-types.
|
Sites (n) |
Duration of Symptoms (Months) |
|
Tongue (4) |
13 ? 13.3 |
|
Palate (5) |
13.4 ? 10.5 |
|
Lip (3) |
23.0 ? 22.9 |
|
Gingiva (1) |
0.5 ? 0.0 |
|
Buccal Mucosa (1) |
0.1 ? 0.0 |
|
Types (n) |
|
|
Carcinoma (12) |
15.7 ? 14.9 |
|
Squamous Cell Carcinoma (8) |
16.8 ? 16.7 |
|
Salivary Gland Carcinoma (2) |
24.0 ? 0.0 |
|
Sarcoma (3) |
4.4 ? 6.6 |
|
Kaposi Sarcoma (2) |
6.3 ? 8.1 |
Patients diagnosed with sarcomas presented earlier than carcinoma patients, while cases of Squamous cell carcinoma stayed longest before presentation to the hospital.
Table 5. Treatment Modalities for Different Oral Cancers (n=17)
|
Type of Therapy (%) |
Treatment |
Number (%) |
|
Monotherapy (23.5) |
Primary Surgery |
1 (5.9) |
|
Primary Radiotherapy |
2 (11.7) |
|
|
Primary Chemotherapy |
1 (5.9) |
|
|
Combination Therapy (5.9%) |
Surgery + radiotherapy |
1 (5.9) |
|
Surgery + Chemotherapy |
0 (0.0) |
|
|
Radiotherapy +Chemotherapy |
0 (0.0) |
|
|
Surgery + Radiotherapy + Chemotherapy |
0 (0.0) |
|
|
None (70.6) |
No Treatment Recorded |
12 (70.6) |
Treatment
The records indicate that the majority (70.6%) of the patients did not have prescribed treatments following diagnosis (Table 5).