Objective
To identify pain as the initial symptom of oral cancer patients.
Study design
Hospital charts of 1412 patients (1977 to 1998) with oral cancer were reviewed (238
female and 1174 male).
Results
Pain was the initial complaint in 19.2% of the sample. Oral cancer (ratio 4:1) and
initial pain (ratio 9:1; P= .001) was prevalent in men. There were 12 different complaints of pain: sore throat
(37.6%), tongue pain (14.0%), mouth pain (12.9%); pain when swallowing (11.1%), dental
pain (5.9%); earache (5.9%); pain in the palate (4.1%); burning mouth (3.3%); gingival
pain (2.2%); pain when chewing (1.1%); neck pain (1.1%), and facial pain (0.7%). Pain
was associated with advanced TNM staging and location of tumor in the tongue (P= .004) and the tongue/mouth floor (P< .006).
Conclusion
There were 12 different descriptions of pain; pain was related to TNM staging in the
tongue and the tongue/mouth floor. The data presented reinforce the suggestion that
patients with orofacial pain need systematized evaluation and sometimes require an
interdisciplinary approach.
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: April 24, 2006
Accepted:
October 12,
2005
Received in revised form:
October 3,
2005
Received:
February 13,
2005
Identification
Copyright
© 2006 Mosby, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
