Etiological Trends in Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma: A Retrospective Institutional Study

Aim: Oral squamous cell carcinomas (OSCCs) are among the most common cancers that affect human population worldwide. This study aims to analyze the epidemiology, risk factors, clinical and histopathological features, and metastasis in OSCC cases. Methods: This retrospective cross-sectional study included the subjects reported to Department of Oral Pathology and Microbiology in A B Shetty Memorial Institute of Dental Sciences between 2009 and 2013. Data on age, gender, tumor location, lymph node metastasis, associated risk factors, and histopathological grades were recorded and subjected to Pearson′s Chi-square analysis for any correlation between habits and other variables. Results: A total of 61 cases were included. Male: female ratio was 2.6:1 with maximum cases seen in the fifth and sixth decades of life. Totally, 59 cases reported tobacco chewing habit and 2 cases reported sharp teeth. Quid chewing was the most frequently reported habit and buccal mucosa was the common site. Most cases were well differentiated, associated with quid chewing and without nodal metastasis. The correlation of habits to other variables was statistically insignificant (P < 0.05). Conclusion: In this study, betel quid chewing was the most important etiological agent of OSCC and was associated with the few cases of poorly differentiated OSCC