Prevalence of Oral Cancer at a Tertiary Care Hospital in Northern India

Abstract

Oral cancer is among the top 3 types of cancers in India. According to the Oral Cancer Foundation India, 130,000 people succumb to oral cancer in India annually, translating approximately to 14 deaths per hour. Despite being 1 of the countries with the highest incidence of oral cancer, India lacks a nationwide oral cancer register. Hence, epidemiological studies studying the disease pattern of oral cancer can prove beneficial for better understanding of etiology and pathology of oral cancer. The primary reason for such high proportion of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) in India is the mucosal alteration owing to chronic irritation and nitrosamines released from chewable (smokeless) tobacco, in the form of betel quid, gutka, snuff or misri. The present study examines the trend in the incidence of oral cancer in the last 5 years based upon the epidemiological data from a tertiary medical facility of northern India.