Survival analysis of Sudanese oral squamous cell carcinoma patients with field of cancerization - research paper findings

Sep 21, 2026

Late presentation and diagnosis of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) drive a high burden of advanced disease. In Sudan, delayed presentation linked to risks such as Toombak dipping and alcohol use commonly yields extensive lesions and a broad field of cancerization marked by genetic and epigenetic alterations in histologically normal-appearing tissue, increasing recurrence and second primary tumor risk. This prospective study evaluates one-year survival in OSCC patients with extensive field cancerization.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

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Pages10

Reading Time25 min

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Eltohami and Suleiman BMC Cancer (2024) 24:473 BMC Cancer [https://doi.org/10.1186/s12885-024-12197-7](https://doi.org/10.1186/s12885-024-12197-7) RESEARCH Open Access Survival analysis of Sudanese oralsquamous cell carcinoma patients with field of cancerization Yousif Eltohami 1* and Ahmed Suleiman 1 Abstract Background The late presentation and diagnosis of OSCC account for the large number of patients with the advanced form of the disease. In Sudan, cases with delayed presentation, particularly those with risk factors such asToombak dipping and alcohol consumption, frequently present with extensive lesions and a wide area of Field cancerization which characterized by the presence of genetic and epigenetic changes in histologically normalappearing tissues, and have increased risk for recurrent and second primary tumors. This necessitates more aggressive treatment and is usually associated with poorer outcomes. The present study aims to investigate the survival of oralsquamous cell carcinoma patients with a wide field of cancerization. Methods This prospective longitudinal study includes ninety-three oral cancer patients with extensive fields of cancerization who underwent surgical treatment at Khartoum Teaching Dental Hospital (KTDH) conducted from 2019 to 2023. These patients were regularly assessed for clinical changes such as recurrence, the development of second primary tumours, and overall survival over a period of one year. Results Out of the 93 patients, 57 (61 . 3%) were males, and 36 (38 . 7%) were females. The majority of the patients (82%) had stage IV tumours, and 62. 3% had nodal metastasis. Twenty-eight (30%) patients developed recurrences, and 14 (15%) developed second primary tumours. The overall one-year survival rate was 89%, and all deceased patients passed away within 12 months. The survival rate for patients with different types of recurrences varied, with patients who had regional, local, and locoregional recurrences having survival rates of 87%, 74%, and 72%, respectively. Patients who did not experience a recurrence had a one-year survival rate of 92% . Patients who developed second primary tumours had an 86% survival rate. The survival rates for OSCC patients at stages III, IVa, and IVb were 90%, 90%, and 71%, respectively. Conclusion In this study, 62% of patients had nodal metastasis, 30% developed recurrence, and 15% developed second primary tumours. The overall one-year survival rate was 89%, although the development of recurrences and second primary tumours had a negative impact on the survival rate. Keywords Oral squamous cell carcinoma, Wide field of cancerization, Recurrence, Second primary tumour, Survival rates *Correspondence: Yousif Eltohami [Yof88@hotmail.com](Yof88@hotmail.com) 1Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Faculty of Dentistry, University of Khartoum, Khartoum, Sudan © The Author(s) 2024. Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit [http://creativecommons.org/l](http://creativecommons.org/l)icenses/by/4.0/. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver ([http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/](http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/)) applies to the data made available in this artic

FAQs

What was the study aim regarding OSCC and field of cancerization?

To investigate the survival of Sudanese OSCC patients who had a wide field of cancerization.

How was the study conducted and who were the participants?

A prospective longitudinal study followed 93 oral cancer patients with extensive field cancerization who underwent surgery at Khartoum Teaching Dental Hospital from 2019 to 2023.

What were the key one-year survival outcomes and how did recurrences affect them?

Overall one-year survival was 89%. Recurrence and second primary tumor development negatively impacted survival, with different recurrence types showing varying survival rates (regional 87%, local 74%, locoregional 72%), while no-recurrence patients had 92% survival.

Sep 21, 2026

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