Oral Cancer Survival among Malay Patients in Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia, Kelantan

Aims: This study was performed to determine oral cancer survival among Malay patients in Hospital UniversitiSains Malaysia (HUSM), Kelantan.
Methods: The medical records of 118 Malay patients with oral cancer admittedin HUSM from 1st January 1986 to 31st December 2005 were reviewed. Data collected include socio-demographicbackground, high-risk habits practiced, clinical and histological characteristics, and treatment profile of thepatients. Survival status and duration were determined by active validation until 31st December 2006. Dataentry and analysis were accomplished using SPSS version 12.0. The Kaplan-Meier method was used to performsurvival estimates while the log-rank test and the Cox proportional hazards regression model were employed toperform univariate analysis and multivariable analysis of the variables, respectively.
Results:The overall fiveyearsurvival rate of Malay patients with oral cancer was 18.0%, with a median survival time of 9 months.Significant factors that influenced survival of the patients were age, sex, tumour site, TNM stage, histologicaltype, and treatment received.
Conclusion: Survival of oral cancer patients in HUSM was very low. Being elderly,male, presenting with an advanced stage at diagnosis, and not having treatment all contributed to poor survival.