Data from: Oral Cancer: clinical presentation and associated risk factors in a high risk population presenting to a major tertiary care center in Pakistan

Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) has the highest prevalence in head and
neck cancers and is the first and second most common cancer in males and
females of Pakistan respectively. Major risk factors include peculiar
chewing habits like areca nut, betel quid, and tobacco. The majority of
OSCC presents at an advanced stage with poor prognosis. On the face of
such a high burden of this preventable cancer, there is a relative lack of
recent robust data and its association with known risk factors from
Pakistan. The aim of this study was to identify the socioeconomic factors
and clinicopathological features that may contribute to the development of
OSCC. A total of 186 patients diagnosed and treated at a tertiary care
hospital, Karachi Pakistan were recruited. Clinicopathological and
socioeconomic information was obtained on a structured questionnaire.
Descriptive analysis was done for demographics and socioeconomic status
(SES) while regression analysis was performed to evaluate the association
between SES and chewing habits, tumor site, and tumor stage. The majority
of patients were males and the mean age of OSCC patients was 47.62±12.18
years. Most of the patients belonged to low SES (68.3%) and 77.4% were
habitual of chewing. Gender (male) and SES were significantly associated
with chewing habits (p<0.05). Odds of developing buccal mucosa
tumors in chewers (of any type of substance) and gutka users were 2 and 4
times higher than non-chewers respectively. Middle age, chewing habits,
and occupation were significantly associated with late stage presentation
of OSCC (p<0.05). In conclusion, male patients belonging to low SES
in their forties who had chewing habits for years constituted the bulk of
OSCC. Buccal mucosa was the most common site in chewers and the majority
presented with late stage tumors.