2011 Volume 130 Pages 101-105
We evaluated eating and swallowing disorder in 45 subjects—29 men and 16 women aged 70 to 87 years old—treated for oral cancer between 1998 and 2007. The cases included 37 with tongue cancer, four with inferior gingival cancer, two with buccal mucosa cancer, and one with cancer of the oral floor. Of the 45, 33 underwent primary and 12 secondary treatment. The incidence of eating and swallowing disorder and that of aspiration pneumonia were evaluated. Eating and swallowing disorder occurred in 19 of 45 (42.2%) patients. On comparison of patients with the presence or absence of eating and swallowing disorder, the group receiving surgery alone comprised about 70% of those without eating and swallowing disorder, but only 10% of those with eating and swallowing disorder. Patients undergoing radiotherapy and Chemoradiotherapy were more than 4-fold more likely to have eating and swallowing disorder.
Aspiration pneumonia occurred in 15 of 45 (33.3%) overall and in 19 (78.9%) with eating and swallowing disorder, mainly late in radiotherapy or chemoradiotherapy and after surgery. Logistic regression analysis confirmed that factors influencing aspiration pneumonia onset were T value, tracheostomy, and opioid administration.
