Demographic Profile of Benign and Malignant Oral Tumors in Central India: A Retrospective Comparative Study

Background: Oral malignancy is endemic in India due to high addiction to tobacco and betel nuts. In addition, benign oral tumors are also very common in India. Studies comparing the demographic profile of benign and malignant oral tumors are scarce in India. Methods: In this retrospective study, biopsy records of patients with solid tumors who presented to the Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery department from 2006 to 2018 were analyzed. The age and gender distribution of benign and malignant tumors were compared using Student's t-test and Fisher's exact test, respectively. Results: Out of the 429 biopsies reported, non-neoplastic lesions, which included hyperplasias/dysplasia (107) and cystic lesions (113), were excluded, while neoplastic lesions (209) were included in our study. Out of these, 77 (37%) were malignant while 132 (63%) were benign tumors. Among the benign tumors, the most common were fibromas of various types (52/132, 39%) and odontogenic tumors (33/132, 25%); and among the malignant tumors squamous cell carcinoma was the most common (64/77, 83%). The mean age of patients with malignant tumors was significantly higher than benign tumors (51±14 versus 32±16 years; p<0.01). Alarmingly, 23% of malignant tumors were seen in patients ≤40 years of age. Conclusion: In central India, 37% of all neoplasms of the oral cavity are malignant 63% are benign. The average age of presentation of malignant oral tumors is 51 years, and almost one-fourth of all oral malignancies occur in patients below 40 years of age. The high frequency of younger patients developing oral cancer calls for urgent measures to spread awareness about oral cancer and its causative factors in India.