Outcomes of invitational and opportunistic oral cancer screening initiatives in Oporto, Portugal.

Abstract

To assess the utility of oral cancer screening for the early detection of oral potentially malignant disorders (OPMDs) and oral cancer (OC) in a population of Oporto city. We conducted an OC screening program in the city of Oporto between 2010 and 2011 using two methodologies of population recruitment: Volunteers attending an OC screening day recruited via a mass media campaign; and OC screening during dental visits to a public hospital in the Oporto City. Participants' socio-demographic information and life-style habits were ascertained by interviewers, and an oral mucosal examination (screen) was conducted by previously trained and calibrated group of 20 screeners. A total of 727 individuals (277 males and 450 females) with a mean age of 54 years (range 18-94) were screened. During screening, we detected 22 OPMDs: 13 (59.1%) oral leukoplakias and 9 (40.9%) cases with oral lichen planus. No erythroplakias were detected. In addition, two oral carcinomas were detected, both in the T1 stages of the disease. All screen positives attended a specialist clinic following referral to confirm their diagnoses. A randomly selected sample among negative screens was also examined to assess any false negatives. The sensitivity was 96% and specificity was 98%. Significantly more positive cases were found among older individuals (≥54 years) (P = 0.045). Screening data suggest that new cancers and OPMDs can be detected by invitational and opportunistic screening and offer a platform to raise the awareness and knowledge on this cancer in the Portuguese population.