A study of Clinico-pathological Spectrum of Oral Cavity Lesions at a Tertiary Care Hospital

Introduction: Various inflammatory, autoimmune and infectious diseases show their expression in oral cavity.Benign tumours are more common than malignant tumours.High incidence of oral cancer has been associated with tobacco chewing and smoking habits, an important factor for oral cancers in India.Materials and Methods: A cross sectionalstudy was carried out in Department of Pathology, SMS Medical College, Jaipur (Rajasthan) during the year 2016-2017.Total 150 specimens of oral cavity lesions, received during study period were taken.Details about clinical history, histopathological examination and immunohistochemistry were taken and analyzed.Results: Oral cavity lesions showed male predominance with highest prevalence in 30-59 years of life.Malignant tumours were 2.7 times as common as benign.Buccal mucosa was the most common site for malignant oral neoplasm followed by tongue.64% of all malignant neoplasm appeared at these two sites.Squamous cell carcinoma was the most common histopathological lesion.A positive tobacco chewing history was found among three-fourth of cases (76.09%).Conclusion: The present study concluded that majority of oral cavity lesions were malignant in nature.Tobacco chewing, in form of zarda/gutka was a major risk factor associated with oral cancers.Oral cavity is the easily accessible site for self-examination and clinical inspection at regular interval, so early diagnosis of malignant lesions can be possible.Any lesion in the oral cavity should be evaluated histopathologically to rule out malignancy.