Analysis of epidemiological and clinicopathological risk factors for locoregional recurrence of oral cavity squamous cell carcinoma: retrospective analysis of 150 patients with buccal mucosal carcinoma in a tertiary care centre

Background: Oral cavity cancers, the second most common type in India, are responsible for 10% of the overall cancer burden. With a recurrence rate of 30% to 40% and a 5-year survival rate of 50%, these malignancies account for substantial morbidity and mortality. Despite advances in treatment modalities, survival rates following treatment completion have not improved significantly. The present study aimed to establish specific epidemiological and pathological factors which are responsible for recurrence after treatment completion in buccal mucosa cancers. Methods: A retrospective analysis of the data of 150 patients treated for biopsy-proven cancers of the buccal mucosa was undertaken 2 years after treatment completion. Factors such as age, sex, education, lymphovascular invasion, extranodal extension (ENE), perineural invasion, depth of invasion, and pathological margin status were compared between patients who presented with recurrence and those who did not. Statistical significance was set at p<0.05. Results: Of the 150 patients, 52 (34.6%) developed a recurrent disease within 2 years. The mean age of the study population was 45.6 years, and males constituted 84% of the included patients. Ipsilateral buccal mucosa was the commonest site of disease recurrence. Neck node metastasis, ENE, and margins of resection <5 mm, lymphovascular invasion, perineural invasion, and depth of invasion >10 mm, tobacco consumption, smoking were significantly related to the recurrence of disease. Conclusions: Neck node metastasis, ENE, and margins of resection <5 mm, lymphovascular invasion, perineural invasion, depth of invasion >10 mm were the histopathological factors associated with recurrence in cancers of the buccal mucosa.