An Analysis of Theses on Oral Cancer

Objectives:Oral cancer can form in any part of the mouth or throat. In Taiwan, Oral cancer has been the 4th cause of death among ten most common cancers for male. And the average death age is 54 years old. Therefore, governmental officers and researchers pay much attention to oral cancer. In recent years, many reports and theses on oral cancer have been accomplished, giving many inerasable contributions to the treatments and prevention of oral cancer. However, many questions remain unanswered and it is necessary to rethink and review the oral cancer research. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the trends of oral cancer research in last ten years (1999-2008) in Taiwan. Method:The major research method is the content analysis and the supplementary method is the comparative research method. According to domestic electronic theses and dissertation system (http://etds.ncl.edu.tw/theabs/index.html), there are 446 theses, 392 master theses and 54 doctoral dissertations, participated this study. Each thesis was carefully read and then grouped to understand the status quo and trends. Frequency and percentage are used as statistical analysis to process the collected materials. Results: The yearly average growth rate is 1.80%. The yearly average quoted frequency is 0.97. The subject matters usually fall into “behavioral, epidemiologic, and oral health research” and “cellular and molecular biology”. The research tools are generally self-made. The research paradigm emphasizes the quantitative researches. The research goal tends to emphasize applicative research. Conclusion: This study lets the reader learn from the past to contemplate the future and lets the future researchers glimpse into the essence and inclination of oral cancer research. By means of exploring research methods and theoretical foundations, this study provides the researchers a more clarified and in-depth guidance of oral cancer research.