Squamous cell carcinoma of the oral mucosa: a review of 244 cases in Australia.

In an attempt to extend and update information relating to oral cancer in Australia and to provide a basis for international comparison a group of 244 patients suffering from oral cancer have been studied in detail. These patients were all diagnosed in one Oral Pathology Biopsy Service used almost exclusively by oral surgeons and dentists, and although this introduced bias into the sample it had the advantage of standardising documentation. The male: female ratio (1.3 : 1) of patients with oral cancer was lower than that previously reported in Australia, but the average age of patients (60 years) was comparable with many previous reports. The floor of the mouth was the most common site of cancer. There was a significant over-representation of tobacco and alcohol consumers amongst the patients, but a group of elderly females who had never used tobacco or alcohol, yet developed oral cancer, was identified. It was of particular interest that these elderly females had significantly lower haemoglobin and serum iron levels than a sex- and age-matched control group.