Lip squamous cell carcinoma in a Brazilian population: epidemiological study and clinicopathological associations

It was evaluated epidemiological aspects of primary lip squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC) and its associations with clinicopathological factors.

This retrospective, cross-sectional study analysed a socio-demographic, clinical, and morphological data of HNSCC in a Brazilian population (n=30). Data analysis included descriptive statistics and bivariate analyses using the chi-square and Fisher 's exact tests to compare the variables.

The LSCC represented 10.8% of all oral cavity squamous cell carcinoma. Lip malignant disease was more prevalent in elderly men, with male-to-female ratio of 5:1. Lower lip was more affected. It was observed high rates of chronic solar exposure, and tobacco and alcohol drinking habits. Clinically, early TNM staging, small tumour lesions, and non-metastatic disease were predominant findings. It was identified a high frequency of well differentiated tumor samples. Worse Karnofsky performance status was associated with cervical metastasis.

Our findings showed that LSCC patients exhibited similar epidemiological and clinical profiles as noted in other studies. Still, the occurrence of metastatic disease was associated with a worse physical performance status of the LSCC patients during diagnosis.