Clinicopathological features of oral squamous cell carcinoma in patients referred to Amir al-Momenin and Velayat Hospitals in Rasht, Iran, from 2020 to 2023

Abstract

Introduction: Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is the most prevalent malignancy of the oral cavity, representing approximately 90% of all oral cancers. This study was conducted to evaluate the frequency and clinicopathological characteristics of OSCC among patients referred to Amir al-Momenin and Velayat Hospitals in Rasht, Iran, from 2020 to 2023.

Materials and methods: In this descriptive-analytical cross-sectional study, 54 medical records were selected through a census-based approach. Data collection involved extracting demographic and pathological information from surgical pathology reports, which were then analyzed using SPSS version 26. Descriptive statistics and Fisher’s exact test were employed to assess the data, with a significance level of p<0.05.

Results: The mean age of patients was 61 years, with a higher prevalence in males (59.26%) compared to females (40.74%). The tongue was the most frequent site of involvement, accounting for 53.70% of cases, followed by the lip (20.37%), pharyngeal regions (18.52%), and intraoral areas (7.41%). Regarding histological differentiation, 35.19% of cases were well-differentiated, while a significant portion of records (33.33%) lacked specific grading. Furthermore, surgical margin status was unrecorded in 51.85% of cases, though 31.48% were confirmed as tumor-free.

Conclusions: Given the significant proportion of unrecorded pathological data in our sample, this study highlights the need for more consistent and standardized documentation in future pathological reports to better support clinical decision-making.