Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41585146›Full record

ArticleJournal of dental sciences2026

Adjuvant metronomic tegafur-uracil is associated with poorer outcomes and unfavorable histopathologic progression in oral squamous cell carcinomas.

Kai-Feng Hung, Yi-Ping Wang, Yi-Chen Sun, Zhi-Qian Lin, Cheng-Hsien Wu, Peter Mu-Hsin Chang, Julia Yu-Fong Chang

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Article in Journal of dental sciences, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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1 · What the graph read from it

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3 · Its place in the literature

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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

Kai-Feng HungDepartment of Dentistry, School of Dentistry, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Taipei, Taiwan.
Yi-Ping WangDepartment of Dentistry, National Taiwan University Hospital, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan.
Yi-Chen SunDepartment of Ophthalmology, Taipei Tzu Chi Hospital, The Buddhist Tzu Chi Medical Foundation, New Taipei City, Taiwan.
Zhi-Qian LinDepartment of Medical Research, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan.
Cheng-Hsien WuDepartment of Dentistry, School of Dentistry, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Taipei, Taiwan.
Peter Mu-Hsin ChangInstitute of Biopharmaceutical Sciences, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Taipei, Taiwan.
Julia Yu-Fong ChangDepartment of Dentistry, National Taiwan University Hospital, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Background/purpose: Tegafur-uracil (UFUR) is widely prescribed as metronomic adjuvant chemotherapy for oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) in East Asia, though its long-term benefit remains unclear. This study aimed to evaluate the oncologic and pathological impact of adjuvant UFUR in a large real-world OSCC cohort spanning three decades. Materials and methods: This retrospective, single-institution cohort included 2048 patients with histopathologically confirmed OSCC treated at a tertiary medical center in Taiwan (1990-2020). All underwent curative-intent surgery with or without postoperative radiotherapy or concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT). Among them, 878 patients received adjuvant metronomic UFUR for ≥12 months. Survival outcomes were analyzed using Kaplan-Meier and Cox proportional hazards models, and clinicopathologic associations were assessed using chi-square and Wilcoxon tests. Results: Adjuvant UFUR did not improve disease-free survival (DFS) across cancer stages and was associated with significantly poorer DFS in early-stage diseases. Hazard ratios (HRs) for DFS in stages I-III were 1.523, 1.616, and 1.441, respectively (all Conclusion: Adjuvant metronomic UFUR provided no survival advantage and was associated with unfavorable histopathologic evolution in OSCCs. These findings warrant re-evaluation of UFUR as routine adjuvant therapy and support risk-adapted, molecularly guided postoperative strategies in oral cancer management.

Indexed as

Disease-free survivalMetronomic chemotherapyOral squamous cell carcinomaSpindle-cell transformationTegafur-uracilUFUR

Identifiers

PMID41585146
PMCPMC12826014

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.