Table 1.
Patients’ Demographics, Medical History, Disease Burden, and Lifestyle Parameters
| Patient-Related Parameters | Sub-Categories | Proportions (%) |
|---|---|---|
| Age | 20–39 years | 45 (16.98) |
| 40–59 years | 157 (59.24) | |
| 60–79 years | 63 (23.77) | |
| Gender | Male | 235 (88.68) |
| Female | 30 (11.32) | |
| Education status | Below junior high school | 76 (28.68) |
| Junior high school | 106 (40) | |
| Technical secondary school or college | 53 (20) | |
| Bachelor’s degree or above | 30 (11.32) | |
| Marital status | Married | 222 (83.77) |
| Unmarried | 12 (4.5) | |
| Widowed or divorced | 31 (11.70) | |
| Occupation | Unemployed or retired | 58 (21.89) |
| Institutional or company employee | 62 (23.40) | |
| Farmer | 94 (35.47) | |
| Business or freelance | 51 (19.25) | |
| Income status | ≤1000 Chinese Yuan | 39 (14.72) |
| 1000–2999 Chinese Yuan | 101 (38.11) | |
| 3000–7999 Chinese Yuan | 79 (29.8) | |
| ≥8000 Chinese Yuan | 46 (17.4) | |
| Illness duration | <3 months | 95 (35.8) |
| 3–12 months | 119 (44.9) | |
| 13–36 months | 45 (17) | |
| >36 months | 5 (1.9) | |
| Betel nut consumption | No | 121 (45.7) |
| Yes (one to nine pieces/day) | 30 (11.3) | |
| Yes (10–19 pieces/day) | 70 (26.4) | |
| Yes (>20 pieces/day) | 44 (16.6) | |
| Drinking habit | No | 167 (63.0) |
| Yes (white wine, one to four times) | 64 (24.2) | |
| Yes (white wine, ≥five times) | 20 (7.5) | |
| Yes (rice beer and red wine) | 14 (5.3) | |
| Smoking habit | No | 84 (31.7) |
| Yes (≤19 pieces) | 75 (28.3) | |
| Yes (≥20 pieces) | 106 (40) | |
| Denture use | Yes | 164 (61.9) |
| No | 101 (38.1) | |
| Oral ulcer | Yes | 110 (41.5) |
| No | 155 (58.5) | |
| Diet | Liquid | 258 (97.4) |
| Semisolid | 3 (1.1) | |
| Solid | 4 (1.5) | |
| Tumor stage | I | 77 (29.1) |
| II | 128 (48.3) | |
| III | 59 (22.3) | |
| IV A | 1 (0.4) | |
| IV B | 0 (0.0) | |
| Tumor site | First part of the tongue | 214 (80.8) |
| Second part of the tongue | 51 (19.2) | |
| Tumor size | <2 cm | 50 (18.9) |
| 2–4 cm | 190 (71.7) | |
| >4 cm | 25 (9.4) | |
| Removal size | <2 cm | 62 (23.4) |
| 2–5 cm | 101 (38.1) | |
| >5 cm | 96 (36.2) | |
| Type of surgery | Partial hemiglossectomy | 205 (77.4) |
| Hemiglossectomy | 60 (22.6) | |
| Total glossectomy | 0 (0) | |
| Adjuvant therapy | No adjuvant therapy | 116 (43.8) |
| Radiotherapy | 122 (46.0) | |
| Chemoradiotherapy | 27 (10.2) | |
| Postoperative therapy | Chemotherapy | 75 (28.3) |
| Radiotherapy | 190 (71.7) | |
| Gastrostomy tube | Placed | 61 (23.0) |
| Not placed | 204 (77.0) | |
| Tracheostomy | Performed | 108 (40.8) |
| Not performed | 157 (59.2) | |
| Neck dissection | None | 123 (46.4) |
| Unilateral | 142 (53.6) | |
| Bilateral | 0 (0) | |
| Neck dissection type | Radical | 1 (0.4) |
| Modified radical | 190 (71.7) | |
| Selective | 74 (27.9) | |
| Flap shape | Mushroom | 202 (76.2) |
| Bilobed | 63 (23.8) | |
| Flap dimensions (mean ± standard deviation) | Length: 7.5 ± 1.6 cm | |
| Width: 4.3 ± 0.7 cm | ||
| Surface area: 35.7 ± 11.8 cm2 | ||
| Swallowing initiation (mean ± standard deviation) | 13.4 ± 3.1 days |