Frequency of Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma in Two Public Hospitals in Peru: A Ten-Year Retrospective Study.

PURPOSE: To determine the frequency and factors associated with oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) in the Peruvian population.

MATERIALS AND

METHODS

This retrospective study (2013 to 2022) included data from clinical records of 416 patients from the Head-and-Neck and Oncology Services in two public hospitals in Lima. The primary variable included the presence, location, and degree of differentiation of OSCC with a confirmatory diagnosis from anatomy pathology. Secondary variables included demographic and health data. Comparisons were analyzed using prevalence ratios (PR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) and statistical significance set at p 0.05.

RESULTS

OSCC was identified in 169 cases (40.6%; 95% CI: 35.9‒45.4). Localization was frequently on the tongue (lateral border 34.5%, mobile 9.5% and base 7.1%), with a well- or moderately differentiated grade (97.4%). The presence of OSCC was similar in both sexes (1.2:1 ratio), was more prevalent in individuals aged 51 to 80 years (66.9%), retired (40.1%), born on the coast (66.7%) and diagnosed in 2018 and 2019 (30.8%). The PRs of OSCC were statistically significantly higher in men (palate: PR 2.77), patients >50 years (presence PR 1.54, lip: 5.28, moderately and well-differentiated: PR 1.11), retired persons (lip: PR 5.52), and those born in the highlands (lip: PR 2.4) (p ≤ 0.04).

CONCLUSION

OSCC was frequent in cases of suspected oral cancer, and more frequently affected the tongue, was well- or moderately differentiated, and associated with the demographic factors of sex, age, occupation, and region of birth.