Pretreatment Trismus as a Predictor of Survival Outcome in Oral Cancer Patients

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ABSTRACT Background: Trismus is the restricted mouth opening (≤35 mm) in oral cancer patients that may occurred due to the limited stretching of facial muscles because of tumor growth. Trismus can significantly affect the uptake and chewing of food which in turn cause nutrition depletion in cancer patients, thus affecting their quality of life and survival outcomes. Objectives: The present study was aimed to analyze the role of pretreatment trismus as a predictor of survival outcomes, including long-term survival and disease-free survival in oral cancer patients. Materials and Methods: A total of 38 oral cancer patients with restricted mouth opening were enrolled in the study. The trismus was assessed before the surgery using digital vernier caliper. The patients were then follow-up for survival outcomes over the period of 5 years. The survival outcomes were then correlated with the pretreatment trismus. Results: Poor long-term and disease-free survivals were found to be significantly associated with the high-grade pretreatment trismus. Patients with high grades of pretreatment trismus experienced early treatment relapse and high mortality. Conclusions: Pretreatment trismus was found to be a potential predictor of disease-free survival and overall long-term survival in oral cancer patients. It is recommended that a treatment protocol that could reduce the trismus should be adopted to enhance the survival outcomes of oral cancer patients.