FREQUENCY, RISK FACTORS, AND AWARENESS ABOUT ORAL CANCERS AMONG PATIENTS PRESENTING AT TERTIARY CARE HOSPITALS IN LAHORE
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.69656/pjp.v21i4.1658Keywords:
Betel quid, Education, Oral cancer, Risk factors, Socio economic status, TobaccoAbstract
Background: Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) presents a substantial health challenge in areas where betel nut chewing and tobacco use are prevalent. This study aims to evaluate the contributing risk factors of oral cancers (OC), to know the awareness of the disease in patients, and to attribute knowledge towards early management. Methods: It was a cross-sectional survey using closed-ended questionnaires to collect data from 120 patients aged 18 years or older who had been diagnosed with oral cancer, after approval of the IRB. Details of tobacco, betel quid, and Gutka (????) use, and awareness about disease and its management were recorded. Data were tabulated as frequencies and percentages. Results: Male patients in the study were affected more with OC than females. Patients aged above 40 years were more prevalent. The most common and significant risk factors were tobacco and betel nut. Oral cancer was seen more in patients with low socio-economic status (SES) and uneducated people belonging to urban areas. Level of awareness was very low among the patients. Conclusion: Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma occurs more frequently in males with the highest incidence in 4th decade of life. Using tobacco was identified as the predominant risk factor, followed by betel nut and Gutka consumption. Enhancing public awareness may facilitate earlier detection, improved treatment outcomes, and ultimately lead to a better quality of life for affected individuals.
Pak J Physiol 2025;21(4):30–2, DOI: https://doi.org/10.69656/pjp.v21i4.1658
Downloads
References
Sapna S, Jain P, Sharma A, Hora R, Sharma H, Karuveettil V. Prevalence and incidence of oral cancer and pre-cancerous lesions in indigenous populations: a systematic review protocol. JBI Evid Synth 2024;22(6):1177–86.
Zaman T, Haq A, Ahmad R, Sinha S, Chowdhury K, Parvin S, et al. The role of probiotics in the eradication of Helicobacter pylori and overall impact on management of peptic ulcer: A study involving patients undergoing triple therapy in Bangladesh. Cureus 2024;16(3):e56283.
Rich BJ, Samuels SE, Azzam GA, Kubicek G, Freedman L. Oral cavity squamous cell carcinoma: review of pathology, diagnosis, and management. Crit Rev Oncog 2024;29(3):5–24.
Arduino PG, Conrotto D, Broccoletti R. The outbreak of Novel Coronavirus disease (COVID?19) caused a worrying delay in the diagnosis of oral cancer in north?west Italy: The Turin Metropolitan Area experience. Oral Dis 2021;27(Suppl 3):742–3.
Lipsky MS, Singh T, Zakeri G, Hung M. Oral health and older adults: a narrative review. Dent J 2024;12(2):30.
Gulati A, Sobti RC. Oral squamous cell carcinoma. In: Biomarkers in cancer detection and monitoring of therapeutics. Vol-2. Cambridge, MA: Academic Press; 2024. p. 1–87.
Chaturvedi P, Singh A, Chien CY, Warnakulasuriya S. Tobacco related oral cancer. BMJ 2019;365:l2142.
Jategaonkar AA, Khan M. Oral cavity and oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma. In: ENT board prep: high yield review for the otolaryngology in-service and board exams. Cham: Springer International Publishing; 2023. p. 393–407.
Sari EF, Hidayat W, Dewi TS, Rezeki S, Krimadi R, McCullough MJ, et al. General dentists’ knowledge, perceptions, and practices regarding oral potentially malignant disorders and oral cancer in Indonesia. Clin Exp Dent Res 2024;10(1):e807.
Warnakulasuriya S, Kujan O, Aguirre?Urizar JM, Bagan JV, González?Moles MÁ, Kerr AR, et al. Oral potentially malignant disorders: A consensus report from an international seminar on nomenclature and classification, convened by the WHO Collaborating Centre for Oral Cancer. Oral Dis 2021;27(8):1862–80.
Zhang L, Dong D, Zhang W, Hao X, Fang M, Wang S, et al. A deep learning risk prediction model for overall survival in patients with gastric cancer: a multicenter study. Radiother Oncol 2020;150:73–80.
Bhat GR, Hyole RG, Li J. Head and neck cancer: current challenges and future perspectives. Adv Cancer Res 2021;152:67–102.
Tirelli G, Uderzo F, Gardenal N, Boscolo-Rizzo P, Marcuzzo AV. Lymph nodes of the perimandibular area: from anatomical classification to pathological role in cancer of oral cavity, oropharynx and skin. J Cancer Metastasis Treat 2023;9:20.
Bloomquist DS, Lee JJ, Sullivan SM. Mandibular orthognathic surgery. In: Miloro M, Ghali GE, Larsen PE, Waite PD, (Eds). Peterson’s principles of oral and maxillofacial surgery. Cham: Springer; 2022.p. 1851–907.
Beniwal N, Verma A, Putta CL, Rengan AK. Recent trends in bio-nanomaterials and non-invasive combinatorial approaches of photothermal therapy against cancer. Nanotheranostics 2024;8(2):219–38.
Hernández-Guerrero JC, Jacinto-Alemán LF, Jiménez-Farfán MD, Macario-Hernández A, Hernández-Flores F, Alcántara-Vázquez A. Prevalence trends of oral squamous cell carcinoma: Mexico City’s General Hospital experience. Med Oral Patol Oral Cir Bucal 2013;18(2):e306–11.
Khaleel ME, Raza A, Ehsan A, Masood R, Javed M. Clinicopathological spectrum of oral squamous cell carcinoma at a public sector health facility. Biomedica 2015;31(1):21–6.
Javed F, Altamash M, Klinge B, Engström PE. Periodontal conditions and oral symptoms in gutka-chewers with and without type 2 diabetes. Acta Odontol Scand 2008;66(5):268–73.
Anwar N, Pervez S, Chundriger Q, Awan S, Moatter T, Ali TS. Oral cancer: clinicopathological features and associated risk factors in a high-risk population presenting to a major tertiary care center in Pakistan. PLoS One 2020;15(8):e0236359.
Balaram P, Sridhar H, Rajkumar T, Vaccarella S, Herrero R, Nandakumar A, et al. Oral cancer in southern India: the influence of smoking, drinking, paan?chewing and oral hygiene. Int J Cancer 2002;98(3):440–5.
Madani AH, Jahromi AS, Dikshit M, Bhaduri D. Risk assessment of tobacco types and oral cancer. Am J Pharmacol Toxicol 2010;5(1):9–13.
Güneri P, Çankaya H, Yavuzer A, Güneri EA, Eri?en L, Özkul D, et al. Primary oral cancer in a Turkish population sample: association with sociodemographic features, smoking, alcohol, diet and dentition. Oral Oncol 2005;41(10):1005–12.
Manoharan S, Nagaraja V, Eslick GD. Ill-fitting dentures and oral cancer: a meta-analysis. Oral Oncol 2014;50(11):1058–61.
Gorsky M, Silverman S Jr. Denture wearing and oral cancer. J Prosthet Dent 1984;52(2):164–6.
Mangalath U, Aslam SA, Abdul Khadar AH, Francis PG, Mikacha MS, Kalathingal JH. Recent trends in prevention of oral cancer. J Int Soc Prev Community Dent 2014;4(Suppl 3):S131–8.
Zhou XH, Huang Y, Yuan C, Zheng SG, Zhang JG, Lv XM, et al. A survey of the awareness and knowledge of oral cancer among residents in Beijing. BMC Oral Health 2022;22:367.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Hafiz Waqas Ahmed, Asghar Ali, Ayesha Rais, Iqra Sarwar, Shoaib Zuberi, Muhammad Afraz Naeem, Ferheen Shahbaz
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
The author(s) retain the copyrights and allow their publication in Pakistan Journal of Physiology, Pak J Physiol, PJP to be FREE for research and academic purposes. It can be downloaded and stored, printed, presented, projected, cited and quoted with full reference of, and acknowledgement to the author(s) and the PJP. The contents are published with an international CC-BY-ND-4.0 License.
