Risk Factors of Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma with Special Emphasis on Areca Nut Usage and Its Association with Clinicopathological Parameters and Recurrence

Introduction: Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is the most prevalent type of head and neck cancer and is associated with high mortality, particularly in Southeast Asian countries. Areca nut usage, smoking, and alcohol consumption are the most common risk factors for OSCC. Areca nut chewing is highly prevalent in Pakistan and has been attributed to an increase in OSCC cases. This study aimed to determine the association between areca nut usage and various clinicopathological features of OSCC and further evaluate the association of clinicopathological parameters of OSCC with tumor recurrence. Materials and methods: The study was conducted using the data of 228 patients with OSCC resected at Liaquat National Hospital, Karachi, Pakistan, over 5 years between 2018 and 2022. Clinicopathological data were collected from hospital archives, and associations between various risk factors and clinicopathological parameters were determined. Results: Males were more commonly affected (77.2%), and the most common age group was <50 years (54.4%). Areca nut usage was reported in 59.6% of cases, and the buccal mucosa was the most common site (62.7%). Areca nut usage was significantly associated with male gender, greater tumor size, greater depth of invasion (DOI), higher tumor stage, nodal stage, presence of perineural invasion (PNI), and recurrence. In addition, multivariate analysis revealed that OSCC recurrence was significantly associated with older age, larger tumor size and DOI, nodal metastasis, and areca nut usage. Conclusion: Areca nut-related OSCCs were associated with poor prognosis and recurrence in our study population. Furthermore, OSCC recurrence was associated with various clinicopathological parameters, such as larger tumor size, a higher DOI, and nodal metastasis.