Clinico-epidemiological profile of oral potentially malignant and malignant conditions among areca nut, tobacco and alcohol users in Eastern India: A hospital based study

CONTEXT: With an increase in the abuse of various oral habitual products in India over the past few decades; the incidence of oral potentially malignant conditions as leukoplakia, oral submucous fibrosis and squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) rates have also increased. No recent study has been conducted reporting the scenario of oral cancer and potentially malignant conditions in Eastern India (specifically Kolkata). AIMS: The present study was conducted at Dr. R. Ahmed Dental College, Kolkata during 2010-2011 to find a possible correlation between the effects of the different oral habits, age, sex and the different types of oral mucosal lesions among patients reported to the hospital. This study also enabled us to see the predilection of the various histopathological stages of the lesions for different sites of the oral cavity. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: The study group consisted of 698 patients having either oral potentially malignant or malignant lesion. The control group consisted of 948 patients who had reported to the hospital for different oral/dental problems and had the habit of tobacco, areca nut and/or alcohol usage for at least 1 year. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: The unadjusted odds ratio, the 95% confidence interval, and the P value were calculated to correlate patients with/without different kinds of habit and having/not having various kinds of oral lesions. RESULTS: Our study shows that for males having the habit of taking smokeless tobacco or mixed habit poses the highest risk for developing SCC. For females, significant risk of developing SCC was found in patients habituated to processed areca nut chewing. CONCLUSION: This study presents probably for the first time in recent years the occurrence of oral potentially malignant and malignant conditions amongst patients having deleterious habits in a hospital based population of Kolkata.