Oral cancer over six decades: a multivariable analysis of a clinicopathologic retrospective study

Studies have reported changes in the epidemiological profile of patients with oral cancer in recent decades, especially regarding gender and age. This study aimed to evaluate a historical series of oral malignant lesions prevalence over six decades and define characteristics associated with the occurrence, mainly, of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). A retrospective review of histopathological records from 1953 to 2019 was conducted in three oral pathology laboratories in South Brazil about age, sex, anatomical site, clinical aspect, and histopathological diagnosis. Descriptive and analytical analyses were performed comparing the histopathological diagnoses with other variables. Multivariable logistic regression was applied to determine the associated predictors of OSCC. Of the 53,065 records available in the institutions, 986 were oral malignant tumors (including all malignant neoplasms), representing 1.86% of all diagnoses. The occurrence of OSCC in the 1960's was 80.0%, decreasing over time reaching the lowest percentage of cases in the 1990's (75.8%) and significantly increasing to 88.7% in the 2010s. Females had a lower chance than males of having OSCC independently of the decade (odds ratio=0.30, p<0.001). This was the same for older individuals compared to those younger than 40 years. No interactions between sex, age, and decade were observed. The number of diagnoses of oral malignant lesions increased over time, and the occurrence of OSCC varied. Older individuals and males had higher chances of having OSCC independently of the decade. Therefore, in this study sample, no changes were observed in the epidemiological profile over the years concerning these predictors.