Oral squamous cell carcinoma: a clinicopathologic review of 233 cases in Lagos, Nigeria.

PURPOSE

The aim of this study is to present the clinicopathologic characteristics of histologically diagnosed squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the oral cavity in Lagos, Nigeria, with a view toward analyzing the age, gender, site distribution, and histological differentiation.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

All cases that were histologically diagnosed as SCC of the oral cavity between January 1995 and December 2005 were retrieved from the records of the Department of Oral Pathology and Biology, Lagos University Teaching Hospital and the Oral Pathology Service, Lagos State General Hospitals. All the cases were subjected to analysis of age, gender, site of occurrence, symptoms at presentation, and histological differentiation of tumors.

RESULTS

Oral SCC constituted 10.8% (n = 233) of the 5,124 biopsy specimens obtained in all of the centers during the study period. The mean age (+/- standard deviation) of patients at presentation was 45.3 +/- 19.6 years (range, 3 to 86 years), with a male:female ratio of 1.4:1; 40% of these patients were under age 40 years. Peak incidence was found in the 20 to 29-year and 40 to 49-year age groups. Males were significantly younger than females (P = .00). Poorly differentiated SCC was the most common subtype (47.6%), followed by well-differentiated (32.6%) and moderately differentiated (19.7%) subtypes. The mandibular gingiva was the most commonly affected site (31.8%), followed by the maxillary gingiva (23.3%) and tongue (17.6%). The least commonly affected site was the floor of the mouth.

CONCLUSIONS

Oral SCC is most common in the mandibular gingiva and in males in our environment, with 40% of cases occurring in patients under age 40 years. The poorly differentiated subtype is the most common histological differentiation.