Oral functional impairment may cause malnutrition following oral cancer treatment in a single-center cross-sectional study

• Published in: Scientific Reports Vol. 12; no. 1; pp. 14787 - 9
• Main Authors: Morioka, Reon, Matsuda, Yuhei, Kato, Akira, Okui, Tatsuo, Okuma, Satoe, Tatsumi, Hiroto, Kanno, Takahiro
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Springer Science and Business Media LLC 30.08.2022; Nature Publishing Group UK; Nature Publishing Group; Nature Portfolio
• Subjects: 631/67/1536; 631/67/1665; 692/700/3032; Aged; Cancer therapies; Cross-Sectional Studies; Dysphagia; Female; Geriatric Assessment; Humanities and Social Sciences; Humans; Male; Malnutrition; Mastication; Medicine; Microorganisms; Mouth Neoplasms; multidisciplinary; Multiple regression analysis; Nutrition assessment; Nutritional Status; Occlusion; Oral cancer; Pressure; Q; R; Risk factors; Science; Science (multidisciplinary); Statistical analysis; Tongue; Tumors
• ISSN: 2045-2322; 2045-2322
• DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-19177-6

Oral dysfunction and dysphagia after oral cancer treatment are linked to altered nutritional status. We aimed to identify specific oral functions related to nutritional status. We conducted a cross-sectional study from September 2019 to December 2021, recruited 75 participants (median age: 72.0 years), including 52 males and 23 females, collected background data, and evaluated oral function. The Mini Nutritional Assessment-Short Form (MNA-SF) scores were divided into three groups (normal nutritional status, at risk of malnutrition, and malnourished), and a multi-group comparison was conducted for each oral function measurement (microorganisms, oral dryness, occlusal force, tongue pressure, masticatory function, and Eating Assessment Tool [EAT-10]). The primary tumor site was the tongue in 31 patients (41.3%), gingiva in 30 (40.0%), and others in 14 (18.7%). Multiple comparisons revealed significant differences in occlusal force, tongue pressure, masticatory function, and EAT-10 levels, categorized as Type I (Transport type) and Type III (Occlusion type) postoperative oral dysfunctions, between each MNA-SF group. Multiple regression analysis showed a statistically significant association with MNA-SF in terms of masticatory function and EAT-10 levels, categorized as Type I. Type I and Type III are risk factors for malnutrition, confirming that different types of postoperative oral dysfunction require unique nutritional guidance.