Prevalence trends of oral squamous cell carcinoma. Mexico City’s General Hospital experience

OBJECTIVE Recent reports suggest an increase in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) frequency. To improve programs in public health, it is necessary to understand the epidemiological conditions. The aim of this study was to analyze the trend in gender, age, anatomic zone and OSCC stage from Mexico City's General Hospital patients from 1990 to 2008. STUDY DESIGN A retrospective review of all OSCC cases diagnosed by the Pathology Department of the Mexico City General Hospital was performed. Demographic data, in addition to anatomic zone and histological degree of differentiation were obtained. Central tendency, dispersion and prevalence rate per 100,000 individuals were determined. RESULTS A total of 531 patients were diagnosed with OSCC; 58.4% were men, giving a male:female ratio of 1.4:1, and the mean age was 62.5 ± 14.9 years. The predominant anatomic zone was the tongue (44.7%), followed by the lips (21.2%) and gums (20.5%). The most frequent histological degree was moderately differentiated in 325 cases (61.2%). The rates of OSCC prevalence showed similar patterns in terms across time. A significant correlation (P = 0.007) between anatomic zone and age was observed. CONCLUSION According to our results, the prevalence of OSCC does not show important variations; however, a relationship between age and anatomic zone was observed. These data could be used as parameters for the diagnosis of OSCC as well as for the development and dissemination of preventive programs for the early detection of oral cancer.