Treatment and care for oral cancer patients at Shariati hospital in Tehran in 2003-2013

In modern societies, the incidence of oral cancer is increasing. It may be due to the increased population, life expectancy, and exposure to risk factors. This increase can particularly be seen in women and in our own country, Iran. The aim of the present study was to explore the status of care and treatment of patients with oral cancer referring to Shariati educational hospital in Tehran, during the years 2003-2013.
The present study was a cross-sectional descriptive survey on oral cancer patients attending the Shariati hospital in Tehran during a ten-year period. Data were collected through patient records and statistically analyzed by SPSS21 software.
Regression analysis was performed in 5 models, where variables such as age, gender, location of the tumor, stage and grade was entered as independent variables and delay in treatment (time interval from diagnosis to treatment) entered as the dependent variable. The analysis showed that the elapsed time from diagnosis to treatment had a positive association with age of the patients. It means that the higher the age, the more delay in treatment (P Considering the consequences of oral cancer for patients, there was necessity to formulate plans for preventing, early detection and improving quality of life in oral cancer patients.