Examination of the usefulness of MASA-C in the swallowing function evaluation of postoperative oral cancer patients

Abstract

There are several methods of assessing dysphagia, but methods of assessing swallowing function in patients with oral cancer are not well standardized. Therefore, evaluation methods might differ across hospitals, possibly resulting in treatment-induced symptoms not being accurately reflected in the evaluation. The Mann Assessment of Swallowing Ability-Cancer (MASA-C) is a screening tool used for patients with head and neck cancers undergoing radiation monotherapy or chemoradiotherapy. It comprises 24 items to assess the severity of dysphagia and the risk of aspiration. This study evaluated the usefulness of the MASA-C tool postoperatively in patients with oral cancer. MASA-C scores were compared with evaluations performed using existing examination methods, such as video fluoroscopy and the Functional Oral Intake Scale (FOIS). The optimal MASA-C cutoff value for diagnosing aspiration was 150 points, with a sensitivity of 0.89, specificity of 0.80, and an area under the curve of 0.85. A significant correlation was observed between the FOIS and MASA-C (r ＝ 0.624, P ＝ 0.001). MASA-C is a useful screening tool for the evaluation of swallowing function after oral cancer surgery.