Pretreatment Oral Hygiene Habits and Survival of Head and Neck
Friemel et al. BMC Oral Health (2016) 16:33 DOI 10.1186/s12903-016-0185-0 RESEARCH ARTICLE Open Access Pretreatment oral hygiene habits and survival of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) patients Juliane Friemel1†, Ronja Foraita1†, Kathrin Günther1, Mathias Heibeck1, Frauke Günther1, Maren Pflueger1, Hermann Pohlabeln1, Thomas Behrens2, Jörn Bullerdiek3, Rolf Nimzyk3 and Wolfgang Ahrens1* Abstract Background: The survival time of patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is related to health behavior, such as tobacco smoking and alcohol consumption. Poor oral health (OH), dental care (DC) and the frequent use of mouthwash have been shown to represent independent risk factors for head and neck cancerogenesis, but their impact on the survival of HNSCC patients has not been systematically investigated. Methods: Two hundred seventy-six incident HNSCC cases recruited for the ARCAGE study were followed through a period of 6–10 years. Interview-based information on wearing of dentures, gum bleeding, teeth brushing, use of floss and dentist visits were grouped into weighted composite scores, i.e. oral health (OH) and dental care (DH). Use of mouthwash was assessed as frequency per day. Also obtained were other types of health behavior, such as smoking, alcohol drinking and diet, appreciated as both confounding and study variables. Endpoints were progression-free survival, overall survival and tumor-specific survival. Prognostic values were estimated using Kaplan-Meier analysis and Cox proportional hazards regression models. Results: A good dental care score, summarizing annual dental visits, daily teeth cleaning and use of floss was associated with longer overall survival time (p = .001).
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