Journal of International Oral Health

ORIGINAL RESEARCH
Year
: 2017  |  Volume : 9  |  Issue : 3  |  Page : 105--109

Incidence, clinical presentation, and demographic factors associated with oral cancer patients in the southern region of Saudi Arabia: A 10-year retrospective study


Abdulrahman Hesham1, Kamran Bokhari Syed1, Basem T Jamal2, Ali Mosfer Ali Alqahtani3, AlHassan Ahmed Ali Alfaqih1, Hassan Amer Ali Alshehry1, Mohammad Shahul Hameed3, Abdel Bagi Mustafa1 
1 Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, College of Dentistry, King Khalid University, Abha, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
2 Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, King Abdul Aziz University Hospital, Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
3 Department of Diagnostic Sciences, College of Dentistry, King Khalid University, Abha, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Correspondence Address:
Kamran Bokhari Syed
Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, College of Dentistry, King Khalid University, Abha
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Background: This is a retrospective study design to assess the incidence of oral cancer in the southern region of Saudi Arabia. The study involves three tertiary care centers primarily involved in oral cancer care. Incidence, type, distribution of oral cancer among age group, gender, region, and site are assessed. Materials and Methods: A self-designed questionnaire assessed the incidence of oral cancer over 10 years among patients visiting tertiary care centers in Southern Saudi Arabia. A total of 2850 files were screened. Demographic data included gender, age group, and the region from where the patient represented. The clinical presentation of the lesion, site, bilateral involvement, and histopathological variant was included in the study. Data are presented as frequency tables and percentages. Results: A total of 94 patients presented with oral cancer. The incidence of oral cancer in Southern Saudi Arabia is 3.29%; 44 (46.8%) were female and rest 50 were male (53.2%). Patients from 8 regions of Southern Saudi Arabia presented with oral cancer. Of the 8 regions, patients from Abha had the highest incidence of oral cancer (20.2%). Clinical presentation varied from the ulcer (59.3%), swelling (19%), ulcer and swelling (12%), and swelling of the neck along with ulcer in primary site (9.6%) in descending order. 37.2% of the patients presented with a lesion in the tongue making it the highest prone site. 91.5% of the patients were diagnosed as squamous cell carcinoma followed by 5.3% as verrucous carcinoma and 3.5% as sarcoma. The mean follow was 5.3 years. Conclusion: The incidence of oral cancer in Southern Saudi Arabia is 3.29% over 10 years. This is significantly low when compared to similar studies conducted elsewhere. The lower incidence might be attributed to the absence of habits such as betel chewing, pan masala, and gutkha habits normally seen in India and regions around. The presentation of oral cancer is similar to other regions of the world. Surprisingly, females have an almost similar rate of incidence as males though slightly less. This makes it mandatory to assess the habits such as smoking among females more thoroughly. Tongue remains to be the site with the highest incidence which correlates with similar findings in other regions of the world.


How to cite this article:
Hesham A, Syed KB, Jamal BT, Alqahtani AM, Alfaqih AA, Alshehry HA, Hameed MS, Mustafa AB. Incidence, clinical presentation, and demographic factors associated with oral cancer patients in the southern region of Saudi Arabia: A 10-year retrospective study.J Int Oral Health 2017;9:105-109


How to cite this URL:
Hesham A, Syed KB, Jamal BT, Alqahtani AM, Alfaqih AA, Alshehry HA, Hameed MS, Mustafa AB. Incidence, clinical presentation, and demographic factors associated with oral cancer patients in the southern region of Saudi Arabia: A 10-year retrospective study. J Int Oral Health [serial online] 2017 [cited 2023 Dec 4 ];9:105-109
Available from: https://www.jioh.org/article.asp?issn=0976-7428;year=2017;volume=9;issue=3;spage=105;epage=109;aulast=Hesham;type=0