Clinical implications of recent exodontia before diagnosis of gingival squamous cell carcinoma: A new classification.

BackgroundThe purpose of this study was to clarify the clinical implications of cases with recent dental extractions to establish a new classification of gingival squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). MethodsA total of 156 patients were enrolled in this study. The subjects were divided into 3 groups: type I (dentate; n=46), type II (edentulous; n=55), and type III (dental extraction; n=55). Continuous clinical and treatment variables were analyzed by 1-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) or t test, and categorical variables were evaluated by chi-square tests. Assessment of 5-year survival rates were carried out by the Kaplan-Meier analysis, and the influence of related factors was evaluated by the log-rank test. ResultThe 55 type III patients showed a high probability of bony invasion (80%) and a lower 5-year survival rate (48%) than the other 2 groups. ConclusionOur proposed classification may help clinicians to identify patients with gingival SCC who present with more advanced disease status. (c) 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Head Neck 38: 339-346, 2016