Abstract

Oral cavity cancers appear to be more common among head and neck cancers (HNCs). Its incidence and etiology vary from country to country. In this study, the aim is to describe the epidemiological profile and emerge the risk factors for oral cancer in Senegal and their association with genetic alterations. The study is prospective and was conducted on 54 patients and 54 controls. Epidemiological and clinicopathological data were entered into Microsoft Excel. Descriptive and association analyses were determined using R software. Differentiation and genetic distance factors were performed with the Arlequin software. The results showed a female predominance, with a sex ratio of 0.86 and a mean age of 57.11 years. Age between 50 and 70 years, poor oral hygiene, smoking and cola consumption are risk factors for OCCs. Gum and cheek cancers as well as smokers and nonsmokers are genetically different. In view of these results, it seems that Senegalese patients have epidemiological profiles different to those of patients from other countries. The TP53 variants found in this study could be used as a biomarker in at-risk populations.

Key words: Epidemiology, risk factors, TP53, mutations, cancer, oral cavity.