Clinical outcomes and pattern of care in oral cancer treated with curative intent at two newly commissioned cancer centres in India: A real-world data analysis

Objectives: As India scales up cancer care delivery nationwide, the benchmarking of outcomes at newly established centers is critical to ensure the quality of care. The study was conducted to evaluate the demographic profiles, treatment, and clinical outcomes of oral cancer (OC) cases treated with curative intent during the first 5 years of operation of two newly established satellite centres in India. Material and Methods: This retrospective study included OC cases treated with curative intent between January 1, 2015, and December 31, 2020, at two cancer centers in India. To identify factors affecting disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS), univariate (Kaplan–Meier and log-rank) and multivariate (Cox regression) analyses were performed. Results: Data from 769 consecutive patients were analysed. Definitive treatments were curative surgery n = 692 (90%), radical radiotherapy RT; n = 38 (5%), and neoadjuvant chemotherapy n = 39 (5.1%) followed by surgery ( n = 20 ) or RT ( n = 19 ). Five-year DFS and OS rates for OC stages I, II, III, and IV were 79% and 80.2%, 67.2% and 67.2%, 42.2% and 44.6%, and 40.3% and 42.1%, respectively. On multivariate analysis, poor OS was associated with age >60 years, pathological stages III and IV, extra-nodal extension, lympho-vascular invasion, and grade III histology. Conclusion: This study underscores the importance of assessing the quality of cancer care in newly established centres. The findings provide a promising outlook as India continues to scale up distributed regional care and emphasize the need for targeted interventions and improved care protocols.