Oral carcinomas detected after extraction of teeth: a clinical and radiographic analysis of 32 cases with special reference to metastasis and survival.

A study was performed of 32 oral carcinomas that were diagnosed after recent dental extraction with particular reference to metastasis and survival. Eighty-four per cent of the patients complained of local swelling and/or pain. Infection had been suspected in 74% of the patients by the referring doctors. The involved teeth had been extracted in all patients. Ulceration and granulomatous tissue suggestive of carcinoma were found in the extraction sites in 24 patients when they were referred to us. Radiographs at presentation, available in 26 patients, showed diffuse radiolucencies with irregular borders around the extraction sites. Tumor or carcinoma were the clinical diagnoses in 27 patients. All patients underwent chemotherapy, irradiation and/or surgery, or a combination of these with curative intent after the diagnosis was confirmed histologically. Compared to a group of patients in whom dental extraction was not performed, the incidence of pathologically positive lymph nodes was significantly higher in the extraction group (52% vs 26%). The five-year survival in the extraction group was also lower (35% vs 48%).