Assessment of epidemiology of oral malignancies - An institution based Retrospective study

Oral malignancies are a group of dangerous disease affecting the oral cavity. The subtypes of oral malignancies have distinctive aetiology, epidemiology and multi-year endurance rate. This retrospective study included subjects who reported to the Department of Oral Pathology and Microbiology in Saveetha Dental College from July 2019 - March 2020. Data on age, gender, lesion site, habit profile and diagnosis were recorded and analysed for Pearson’s chi-square correlation test between demographic data and oral malignancies. A total of 83 cases were included in the study in which 80 (96.3%) are carcinomas, and 3 (3.75%) are other malignancies. The correlation between the oral malignancy diagnosis and demographic data - age, gender, site and habit showed statistically insignificant (p>0.05) results with p-value = 0.802, 0.898, 0.07and 0.817 respectively. Our study demonstrated that predominance of oral malignancies was seen in the fifth - the seventh decade of life with more propensity towards the male population, and buccal mucosa was identified as the most common site. This study reflects the need to create awareness among the general population regarding the burden of disease and the possibility of preventing it.