Cáncer oral. Factores de riesgo y cambio de tendencia epidemiológica

Abstract

Introduction: Oral cancer continues to be one of the causes of increased morbidity and mortality in the world. With an approximate incidence of 377 thousand cases and a mortality of 177 thousand in 2020, being oral squamous cell carcinoma (COCE) the most frequent. This neoplasm predominantly affects men and its incidence increases with age. Until the age of 80, men have 40.9% of cancer and in the case of women they have 27.0%. At age 85, this risk increases by 49.1% in men and 31.8% in women. Objective: To know the profi le of the patient with oral cancer in terms of sex and age, and to identify the possible etiopathogenic factors related to the appearance of this neoplastic process. Material and method: An observational, descriptive and retrospective study was carried out in the Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Service of the Ramón y Cajal University Hospital in the period between 2004 and 2020. This study has been approved by the ethics and research committee of the aforementioned hospital. Results: Our sample consisted of 46 men and 40 women. All of them suffer from COCE and have an average age of 66 years ± 14.0 years (66.37; 95% CI). Most of the patients in the sample have been concentrated in the 60s to 80s. The most relevant risk factors as predictors of this disease have been tobacco and alcohol. The sites of predilection of oral carcinoma have been the tongue, the jugal mucosa and the fl oor of the mouth, being the most frequent locations in the case of women the tongue (57.14% vs 42.85%), the alveolar ridge (54.54% vs 45.45%) and the tuberosity of the maxilla (100% vs 0%). Conclusions: The profile of patients suffering from oral cancer begins to change towards somewhat younger populations, being found in more and more women. The youngest patient with COCE has been 35 years old. Men continue to have more cases of COCE (53.5%), but women are approaching men in prevalence, and in some locations, they are already ahead. Risk factors such as tobacco and alcohol are shown as positive predictors of oral cancer risk.