Premalignant and malignant lesions in the oral cavity, La Palma municipality, Pinar del Río

Introduction: nowadays oral cancer is considered a set of diseases with a large variation of predisposing factors. The only measure that can increase the indexes of its cure is the diagnosis in the early stages of any of the histopathological types that develop in the oral cavity. Objective: to characterize clinical and epidemiologically the patients with premalignant and malignant lesions in the oral cavity in La Palma municipality, Pinar del Río between 2015 and 2016. Methods: an observational, cross-sectional and descriptive study was carried out; the target group was constituted by the patients who attended the dentistry services at 10 de Octubre dentistry clinic, and transferred to the oral office of Maxillofacial Surgery, where a sample of 102 was taken, among them, carriers of premalignant and malignant lesions of the oral mucous membrane in that period. Absolute and relative frequencies were used for the analysis and interpretation of the variables. Results: male gender predominated, and the age group was over 60 years old. The lips and cheeks were the most affected anatomical sites, and the prevailing risk factors were smoking and sharp edges. The conservative modality of treatment was mostly used. Conclusions: knowledge concerning the Program of Early Detection of Oral Cancer in the population was very low