Epidemiology of oral cancer in Iran: A systematic review

Oral cancer stands among the 10 top causes of cancer death in the world. Considering the role
of epidemiologic information on planning and effective interventions, the present study aimed to investigate
the epidemiology of oral cancer in Iran. Materials and Methods: The required information for this systematic
review study was obtained from PubMed, Google Scholar, CINAHL,SID, Medlib, Magiran and Iranmedex
databases, using key words “cancer”, “oral cancer”, “squamous cell carcinoma”, “oral cavity carcinoma” and
their Persian equivalents in combination with keywords of epidemiology, prevalence, etiology, frequency, and Iran
from 1990 to 2014. From 1,065 related studies found, finally 25 were included to the study. Results: The mean
age of 8,248 patients in 25 studies was 54.0±15.1 years. The male/female ratio for oral cancer was 1.91. Tongue
with average percentage of 29.9 was the most involved site. Regarding microscopic grade, 65.7% of cases were
grade 1. SCCs, accounting for an average of 70.0%, was the most common among all types of oral cancer. In the
majority of studies, smoking including cigarette, hookah, and tobacco consumption was found to be a risk factor.
Conclusions: The epidemiological pattern of oral cancer in Iran is somewhat similar to that of other countries.
Yet the information on hand in this field is limited and considering the role of epidemiological data we suggest
conducting more accurate studies to catch data that is required for effective programs and interventions.