Oral cancer early symptom variations: pain as the first symptom in oral cancer patients

Although oral cancer is amenable for early detection, it often presents as advanced disease in many of patients. Long-lasting ulcer or mucosal discoloration has been described as the key to an early diagnosis; however other symptoms may also exist. The present study aims to describe the frequency of the early symptoms in oral cancer patients, with a special focus on pain.
Patients (n=100) with primary oral squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) treated in three university hospitals during 2004-2006, in Tehran, were included in this study. Oral cancers were defined as SCCs of the oral cavity (ICD-10 anatomical sites C01- 06). Questionnaireinterviews were made and all the patient records were reviewed for retrieving data. Data analysis was done by means of SPSS version 20, by Chi-squared test and multinomial regression.
Majority of patients (73%) reported to have painless ulcer as the first symptom. Pain was reported to be the earliest symptom in 10% of oral cancer patients. Other symptoms were swelling, white patch, and paresthesia. Stage of tumor at the time of diagnosis and source of referral were related to initial symptom (p This study supports the importance of initial symptoms in the detection of oral cancers in the earliest stage, in order to improve patients’ prognosis and quality of life.