Comparison of oral cancer versus competing factors as cause of death: Single institution experience with long-term follow up

Survivors of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma face excess mortality from multiple causes. However, impact and patterns of all-cause mortality remains unknown in oral cancer patients. The aim of this study was to analyse these patterns in long-term survivors. We retrospectively studied clinically node-negative (cN0) oral cancer patients primarily surgically treated at tertiary cancer center. A total of 152 patients were identified. Median follow-up of our cohort was 59 months. A total of 76 patients died. Thirty-four (22.4%) patients died from primary tumor recurrence and 42 (27.6%) patients died from competing causes. The most common competing causes of death were: cardiovascular disease (n = 18; 42.9%), followed by second primary cancer (SPC) (n = 11; 26.2%). Lung cancer accounted for 54.5% (6 of 11) of SPC associated deaths. Patients with cN0 oral cancer treated with up-front surgery are potentially highly curable for index cancer but face significant risks of mortality from causes other than disease recurrence. Nearly one-third of these patients died from competing causes of death which are major cause of mortality after the fourth year of follow-up period. This study highlights the importance of adjusted follow-up strategies addressing this population specific risks.