Frequency of Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma in Two Public Hospitals in Peru: A Ten-Year Retrospective Study

Purpose: To determine the frequency and factors associated with oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) in the Peruvian population. Materials and Methods: This retrospective study (2013 to 2022) included data from clinical records of 416 patients from the Head-and-Neck and Oncology Services in two public hospitals in Lima. The primary variable included the presence, location, and degree of differentiation of OSCC with a confirmatory diagnosis from anatomy pathology. Secondary variables included demographic and health data. Comparisons were analyzed using prevalence ratios (PR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) and statistical significance set at p < 0.05. Results: OSCC was identified in 169 cases (40.6%; 95% CI: 35.9–45.4). Localization was frequently on the tongue (lateral border 34.5%, mobile 9.5% and base 7.1%), with a well- or moderately differentiated grade (97.4%). The presence of OSCC was similar in both sexes (1.2:1 ratio), was more prevalent in individuals aged 51 to 80 years (66.9%), retired (40.1%), born on the coast (66.7%) and diagnosed in 2018 and 2019 (30.8%). The PRs of OSCC were statistically significantly higher in men (palate: PR 2.77), patients >50 years (presence PR 1.54, lip: 5.28, moderately and well-differentiated: PR 1.11), retired persons (lip: PR 5.52), and those born in the highlands (lip: PR 2.4) (p ≤ 0.04). Conclusion: OSCC was frequent in cases of suspected oral cancer, and more frequently affected the tongue, was well- or moderately differentiated, and associated with the demographic factors of sex, age, occupation, and region of birth.