Malignant oral tumors in Jordanians, 1991-2001. A descriptive epidemiological study

Epidemiological data about malignant tumours of the oral cavity among Jordanians and Arabs is lacking. The purpose of this study is to obtain the incidence rates of oral malignant tumours in the population of the North of Jordan and to describe their main characteristics over a period of 11 years, 1991-2001 inclusive. A retrospective study of all primary malignant tumours of the oral cavity at the regional histopathology departments for the period 1991-2001 was performed. 125 patients had histologically diagnosed primary malignant tumours, 80 (64%) were men and 45 (36%) were women, with male:female ratio of 1.77:1, and a mean age of 62.5 years for both sexes. Between 1991 and 2001, the incidence of oral malignant tumours at all anatomic sites showed little change. Squamous cell carcinomas were the most frequent histological type accounting for more than 84% of oral malignant tumours. Other histological types included: sarcomas (5.6%), adenocarcinomas (5.6%) and lymphomas (4%). The mouth (42.4%) was the most common site affected, followed by the lip (33.6%) and tongue (24%). In comparison with other international studies, there was a low incidence of mouth and tongue malignancies in the North of Jordan. Lip malignancies were the second most common tumours of the oral cavity in North of Jordan and in global terms showed mild incidence rates. Cigarette smoking, exposure to solar radiation and possible dietary factors play a major role in the aetiology of oral malignancy in Jordan.