Association of tobacco exposure with demographic and clinicopathological factors in patients of oral squamous cell carcinoma - A single-center experience

Almost a third of the global load of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) occurs in India and can be attributed to the widespread use of tobacco and tobacco-related products in this part of the sub-continent. Records of 274 patients of OSCC treated between January 2018 and December 2019 in our institute were analyzed for the study for history of tobacco abuse and distribution of associated demographic, clinical, and pathological factors. The age of the patients in the study ranged from 31 to 82 years with a median age of 60 years. The ratio of oral cancer in males: females was 3:1. Exposure to tobacco was seen in the majority of patients (89%) who reported with oral carcinoma. Smokeless tobacco in the form of gutka was the most common abused tobacco, followed by bidi in our study. Tongue and buccal mucosa (38% and 36%, respectively) were the most common sites. Significant statistical correlation of tobacco use was seen with age, gender, clinical, and pathological tumor stages. With tobacco being the main cause of OSCC, further studies with a larger number of patients and preferably with a comparison arm of non-tobacco OSCC would help in elucidating the exact clinical and statistical correlation of tobacco with the clinicopathological factors.