Causes of death in patients with oral cancer

Abstract

Autopsy protocols of 187 patients with oral cancer were studied with respect to the causes of death. Eleven per cent of the patients died of recurrent or uncontrollable disease above the clavicles, while 17 per cent died of metastatic disease beyond the neck. Treatment complications accounted for 24 per cent of all deaths. Frequent complications were putrid lung abscess and rupture of the carotid artery. Morphologic evidence of the original primary tumor or its metastases was absent in 80 per cent of the patients who died of unrelated causes. The over-all incidence of multiple primary cancers was 34 per cent; the death rate from a second primary cancer was 24 per cent. Eight patients had more than two primary malignant lesions. Tumors of the oral cavity, upper gastrointestinal, and respiratory tracts accounted for two thirds of the multiple combinations. The death rate for cirrhosis of the liver did not significantly exceed that of the general population in the United States.