Purpose: Patients with terminal cancer often suffer from a variety of oral problems. It remains unclear whether oral health status is associated with survival of terminally ill cancer patients receiving palliative care. 

Methods: We analyzed the data of 59 Korean patients with terminal cancer receiving palliative care, including oral health status using a modified Korean version of the Oral Health Assessment Tool (OHAT). Patients were categorized into “Good”, “Moderate”, or “Poor” groups based on OHAT scores. Kaplan–Meier method was used to compare the median survival time, and prognosis between groups was estimated using a Cox proportional hazard models.

Results: The most common oral symptoms were xerostomia (69.5%) and mucositis (17.0%). Significantly shorter survival time were found in hyperbilirubinemia, azotemia, and no use of denture. “Poor” group survived shorter than those with “Good” oral group (P=0.010). A multivariate Cox proportional hazards analysis revealed that “Poor” group was significantly associated with poor survival compared to “Good” group (hazard ratio, 2.05; P=0.047).

Conclusion: Terminally ill cancer patients with poor oral health may have a higher risk of short survival. Palliative care professionals need to pay attention to oral health and further research is needed to determine the effect of oral care on survival.