Comparison of orofacial pain of patients with different stages of precancer and oral cancer.

Orofacial pain impairs a patient's speech, swallowing, eating and interpersonal relations. Thirty-seven patients with a premalignant oral lesion, 124 patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSSC), and 21 patients with a recurrence of OSSC were evaluated for their orofacial pain. The University of California San Francisco Oral Cancer Pain Questionnaire was administered to these patients at their initial visit, before they were prescribed analgesics for pain and before any treatment. Significant differences with respect to orofacial pain between the groups could be evaluatedwere observed. Patients with recurrence had the highest facial pain and patients with precancer had the lowest. Patients with OSSC and recurrence of OSSC reported significant levels of orofacial pain and functional restriction because of pain. Moreover, patients with recurrence of OSSC experienced significantly higher function-related pain, rather than pain qualities. These findings suggest that an important predictor for recurrence of OSSC may be the onset of orofacial pain that is exacerbated during function. The present study examined orofacial pain depending on the disease severity of precancer and oral cancer patients. Earlier recognition of symptoms of OSSC may improve early detection of its recurrence.