Influence of chemotherapy on endosteal implant survival and success in oral cancer patients.

Little is known about the effect of chemotherapy on the osseointegration and survival of endosteal dental implants. In a retrospective study, two groups of patients were compared: one group consisting of 30 oral cancer patients received postsurgical adjuvant chemotherapy with either cis- or carboplatin and 5-fluorouracil in three cycles and were treated subsequently with 106 dental implants placed in the mandible; the other group consisting of 17 patents suffering from oral cancer was prescribed with 54 dental implants placed in the mandible after oncological surgery. No patient was treated with radiotherapy. Twenty patients in the first group were successfully provided with a prosthetic superstructure (mean time of function: 35.8 months) compared to 16 patients in the second group (mean time of function: 36.2 months). The observation time was 10 years. A life-table analysis based on defined success parameters demonstrated no significant difference between implant survival in either group. It was concluded that chemotherapy with cis- or carboplatin and 5-fluorouracil was not detrimental to the survival and success of dental implants in the mandible.