Oral cancer screening as an integral part of general health screening in Tokoname City, Japan

Abstract

Objectives To measure the attendance and compliance rates in oral mucosal screening (OMS) offered as part of a general health screen (GHS) undertaken as an organised programme in Japan. Methods In 1996, all adults over the age of 40 years resident in Tokoname City were invited by letter to attend a free GHS annually, conducted by the municipal cooperation and the medical and dental societies of Tokoname City. In the later years only those who attended in 1996 were reinvited. Females aged less than 39 years were also allowed to attend if they wished to participate in the GHS. The GHS consisted of completion of a self administered questionnaire to identify past and current illnesses and any medications used by the screened population coupled with a routine physical check, chest x ray, ECG, and blood and urine examination. The GHS was programmed annually during the years 1996 to 1998. All those attending the GHS were invited to participate in an OMS conducted under the same roof by a visiting dentist (n=37). A referral pathway was established for screen positives requiring follow up. Results A total of 19 305 subjects (5955 males, 13 350 females; mean age 59.2 years; 7033 in 1996, 6289 in 1997, and 5983 in 1998) attended the GHS. Of those who attended the GHS, 19 056 (98.7%) attended the OMS (1.3% refused). This rate was fairly constant over the three years. Excluding repeat examinations, new cases recruited for OMS over the three years were 8723. Of those participating in OMS, 4269 (60.7%) attended all three years. In the cohorts examined, screening dentists recorded oral mucosal lesions in 5.4% in 1996, in 4.0% in 1997, and in 2.6% in 1998. Overall, this amounted to a positive detection rate of 4.1%, or 4.9% excluding repeat examinations. A higher prevalence of oral pre-cancer was recorded among male smokers. Conclusions The overall results suggest that although compliance with attending a free GHS was low (26.2%) among Japanese subjects over 40 years of age, of those who complied 74–76% reattended annually. Hence a satisfactory participation rate can be obtained in Japan for OMS when this is coupled to a GHS conducted at the same visit.