Epidemiology of squamous cell carcinoma of the oral cavity in Iran

Squamous cell carcinoma accounts for approximately 90% of oral malignancies. This study was performed to determine the prevalence of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) in southern Iran in relation to sex, age, subsite distribution, and histologic differentiation of the tumor. Pathologic records of patients with a histologic diagnosis of OSCC at Fars Cancer Registry of Nemazee Hospital affiliated to Shiraz University of Medical Sciences during the period of April 1992 through March 2007 were reviewed. Among 11,220 cases of cancer registered during this period, 200 cases were OSCC (1.7%). The age range of patients was 4 to 87 years (mean, 56.9 years; SD, 15.5 years), with a 1.4:1 male-female ratio. Oral squamous cell carcinoma occurred more frequently in patients older than 60 years. The tongue was the most commonly affected site (53%), followed by the buccal mucosa (9.5%) and maxillary gingiva (9%). The well-differentiated type (55.5%) was the most common, with the poorly differentiated OSCC being the least common (7.5%). The present study showed that OSCC was the most common malignancy in the tongue and buccal mucosa being more common in older age and male sex.