TITLE:
Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma: A 6-Month Clinico-Histopathologic Audit in a Kenyan Population
AUTHORS:
Penny Muange, Mark Chindia, Wambeti Njiru, Elizabeth Dimba, Regina Mutave
KEYWORDS:
Oral, Squamous Cell Carcinoma, Clinico-Histopathologic, Aetiological Factors
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Stomatology,
Vol.4 No.10,
October
24,
2014
ABSTRACT: Objective: To determine the clinico-histopathologic variations and
etiological factors associated with oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). Methods:
A descriptive cross-sectional hospital based study was conducted at the
University of Nairobi Dental Hospital (UNDH) and Kenyatta National Hospital
(KNH) between September 2008 and February 2009. Eighty-two (82) patients
presenting with lesions confirmed as OSCC were evaluated for habits identified
as risk factors such as tobacco use, alcohol use and betel quid chewing. Demographic
features including age and gender as well as clinical parameters such as site
of the primary lesion, tumour size and nodal involvement were documented.
Incisional biopsies were performed for all patients to confirm the diagnosis
and histopathological features noted. Results:
The mean age of the patients was 58.49 (range = 14 to 90 years), with a male to
female ratio of 1.6:1. Remarkably, 13.4% of the patients were aged 40 years and
below. The peak incidence was found to have been in the 6th - 7th decades. Tobacco use was the main
associated etiological factor (73.2%) followed by alcohol use (57.3%). Notably,
25.6% of the cases had no identifiable risk factor. The tongue was the
most common site (35%) followed by the palate (22%) (p = 0.03). The least
commonly affected site was the floor of the mouth (10%). The most common stage
at presentation was stage IV (52.4%) and; the poorly differentiated OSCC was the most common histopathologic variant
(48.8%) followed by the well differentiated (30.5%) and moderately
differentiated OSCC (20.7%). Conclusion: In the present investigation it is evident that OSCC has a male predilection
with a peak incidence in the 6th - 7th decades and most
commonly manifests in the tongue at stage IV with the poorly differentiated
subtype being the most common. Of the cases diagnosed 13.4% were aged 40 years
and below.