Medyan A. AL Rousan, BDS, MSc FDSRCS, FFDRCS: No financial relationships to disclose
Abstract:
Background: Cancer is one of the main causes of death worldwide. Oral cancer is malignant neoplasm that affects the oral tissues or its structure. This study aimed to determine the demographic and Clinicopathological Profile of Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma Patients in Jordan in order to investigate any possible way to reduce oral cancer incidence in the country.
Methods: A retrospective study carried out at King Hussein Cancer Center covering the period from 2019 to 2024 using the demographic and clinicopathological profile of the patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma, the data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS).
Results: The median age of patients diagnosed with OSCC was 56 years, with a male predominance of 1.54:1. Active smoking was prevalent among the majority of patients. The tongue was the most common primary site (47.6%). Pathological T staging revealed T3 and T4 as the most prevalent stages (63.1%). Neck metastasis was most common in retromolar OCSCC (87.5%) and least common in maxillary tumors (25.0%). The highest rates of nodal involvement were in levels 1B (67.5%) and 2A (65.0%), while level 5 was the least affected (2.5%). PNI and LVI were both significantly associated with nodal metastasis. Pathological examination showed predominantly negative lymphovascular and perineural invasion. Neck involvement was observed in 70% of PNI-positive cases and 76.47% of LVI-positive cases, with both associations reaching statistical significance (P < .05). The mean DOI was significantly greater in pN+ cases (14.05 mm) compared to pN- cases (10.90 mm), with statistical analysis confirming a significant difference between the two means (P = .009). ENE, indicative of aggressive tumor behavior, was present in (40%) of pN+ cases. Radiotherapy was administered to 58.2% of patients, while most did not receive chemotherapy. Recurrence occurred in 20.9% of cases, with lung metastasis being the most common site. Our study revealed a strong association between advanced T-stage and neck metastasis. However, evidence suggests that elective neck dissection improves survival even in early-stage OSCC due to the high risk of occult metastasis.
Conclusion: This study shows that the tongue is the most often affected place, that the disease is more common in women and younger people, and that nonsmokers are at a notably higher risk of developing oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). T3 and T4 were found to be the most common stages by pathological staging, highlighting the importance of early detection and preventive measures.
