Abstract / Summary
Objectives: The aim of this study is to investigate the incidence of possible neuropathic pain on site of the surgery, the disability it causes, jaw function limitations and the psychosocial, patient-related and cancer-related characteristics contributing to these, as well as the oral health quality of life in oral cancer survivors. Material and methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted by a survey, with the inclusion of retrospective data from patient records. All subjects had been treated between 2017-2023 for oral cancer (ICD-10: C00-C14) at the Clinic of Oral and Maxillofacial diseases, Head and Neck Center, Helsinki University Hospital, and were over 18 years of age at the time of treatment. The survey consists of several questionnaires that assess temporomandibular disorders, orofacial pain, jaw function limitations, oral health quality of life and psychosocial factors, as well as the demographic questions. Cancer- and general health-related characteristics were collected from retrospective data. Statistical analysis (association analyses and Spearman's correlation) was performed anonymized using SPSS 28.0 program. Results: Out of 115 patients, 95.7% (n = 110) underwent surgery and 42.6% (n = 49) had a microvascular flap at the area of the surgical deficiency. Microvascular flap reconstruction and tumor invasion depth contributed to higher pain disability. Greater jaw function limitations were associated with microvascular flap reconstruction, adjuvant radiotherapy, neck dissection and bone invasion, as well as the advancing tumor stages and sizes. Conclusions: In conclusion, the findings of this study bring insight into the risk factors associated with higher pain disability and functional limitations of the jaws after oral cancer treatment. The findings highlight the possibility for improving patient information and new care pathways focusing on prevention of oral disabilities in high-risk patients undergoing oral cancer treatment.