What Does"bad Prognosticators"mean When Suffering From Oral Cancer?

Posted on Wed, 17 Sep 2014

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Wed, 17 Sep 2014 Answered on

Mon, 6 Oct 2014 Last reviewed on

Question : My brother-in-law, age 55, has always been a heavy smoker and drinker. Three years ago, he was diagnosed with oral cancer. The tumor was removed and he went back to smoking and drinking. A few months ago, he found out his oral cancer was back. Three weeks ago he had surgery that took 22 hours. His mandible was removed, cleaned and replaced. Much of the tissue of the mouth was also removed and reconstructed with grafts from his arm and leg. He just went home today. His doctor spoke with my husband (patient's brother), and said his lab work showed "bad prognosticators." They are going to proceed with chemo/radiation. I was not there when the doctor spoke with my husband so I did not have the opportunity to ask questions. So, I am asking you. What does "bad prognosticators" mean? He said something about the nerves of the mouth being affected. What is the survival rate for this kind of cancer (floor of the mouth which attached to the bone). Does "bad prognosticators" mean he is likely to die from this? If so, what's the sense in putting him through chemo/radiation therapy? Is this a painful cancer and how long do they usually suffer?

Answered by Dr. Sudhir (-5 hours later)

Brief Answer:
No definite answer but lets discuss this.

Detailed Answer:
Hello,

Unfortunately there are no definite answers to your questions, but I can help with some facts.

1.If prognostics are bad, that means operation could not remove entire tumor and it has spread to distal and local organs like nerves in his case.

2.Since this was recurrence within 5 years and now prognostic are bad, its likely that it will be terminal illness for him.

3. Difficult to predict how much time he has.Infact no one can predict.But more than 5 years life is difficult to expect in my experience.

4.Yes, in cases of recurrence and bab prognostics life expectancy with and without treatment (chemo/radiation therapy) is not greatly different.So one can thoughtfully opt for either going or not going for the treatment.No treatment option is generally selected in attempt to give better life quality to the patient in his/her remaining days.

Hope this helps you.Please ask if there are doubts/queries .Regards

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar