ABSTRACT
Background: A study on Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma (OSCC) in patients above and below forty years of age. Aims: To compare the clinicopathological features of OSCC in patients below and above 40 years using STNMP [S-site, T- Tumor, N- Node, M – Metastasis, P- Pathology] staging system. Materials and Methods: A cross sectional study with data of patients reported with OSCC from January 2015 to September 2019 in the Department of Oral Pathology and Department of Radiotherapy, was done and analyzed using Chi-square test. The 937 study subjects obtained were categorized according to age as Group I (? 40 years) and Group II (?>40 years). A comparative study of clinicopathological variables using STNMP staging was done. Statistical analysis used: Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 23.0 Results: Of the 937 cases of OSCC, 87 were in Group I and 850 in Group II. Both the groups showed a male predilection. Tongue was the most common site among Group I and the buccal mucosa in Group II. STNMP staging of OSCC showed a higher percentage of individuals in the most advanced stage of the disease Stage IV, 42.5% and 32.2% in Group I and Group II respectively. Conclusions: Both the study groups showed a higher percentage of OSCC presentation in Stage IV which highlights the need for routine oral screening and awareness campaigns about OSCC. Study also points out the advantage of STNMP staging system in giving a detailed information about the tumor which makes it easy for future analysis.