Functional Oral Intake Scale as a Marker of Postoperative Speech and Swallowing Outcomes in Tongue Cancer Patients

Functional recovery after tongue cancer surgery involves restoration of oral intake, speech intelligibility, and swallowing function. The Functional Oral Intake Scale (FOIS) is a simple, validated tool for grading oral intake, while the Performance Status Scale-Head and Neck (PSS-HN) measures patient-reported functional outcomes. Their relationship in postoperative tongue cancer patients is not well defined.

A retrospective analysis was conducted on postoperative tongue cancer patients with documented FOIS and PSS-HN scores. Correlations between FOIS and PSS-HN subscales-Speech Understandability, Eating in Public, and Normalcy of Diet-were assessed using Spearman's correlation coefficient. Missing data were handled using multiple imputation prior to analysis.

A total of 100 patients were included. Higher FOIS scores were significantly associated with improved functional outcomes. FOIS showed a moderate correlation with Speech Understandability (ρ = 0.62, p < 0.001), a strong correlation with Eating in Public (ρ = 0.74, p < 0.001), and the strongest correlation with Normalcy of Diet (ρ = 0.82, p < 0.001).

FOIS is a robust marker of postoperative functional recovery in tongue cancer patients and correlates strongly with patient-reported speech and swallowing outcomes.