A wolf in a sheep’s clothing! a study on prevalence and presentation of gingival and alveolar ridge carcinomas reported during a two year span at Karad

Background - SCCs (SCC) of the gingiva are relatively rare tumours. Many unique features of gingival SCC clearly delineate it from oral SCC arising in other sites. Gingival SCC can mimic a multitude of oral lesions, especially those of inflammatory origin.1 Objective – to retrospectively evaluate the number and presentation of cases of gingival and alveolar ridge SCC reported in a period of two years. Methodology - Outpatients records, in the Department of Oral Pathology and Microbiology and Forensic Odontology, SDS, KIMSDU were retrospectively evaluated. Cases diagnosed as gingival/alveolar ridge carcinomas during January 2012-December 2013, were selected and their clinical and histologic findings were recorded and analyzed. Results – In the present study during the two year span, it was found that 70% oral SCC reported were found to be gingival and alveolar ridge SCC with the highest incidence in the 5th -6th decade of life, a predilection for males and the mandibular posterior region was also observed. 10% cases in the present study had a innocuous presentation which could have been missed without adequate investigations. Conclusion – These carcinomas constitute an extremely important group of neoplasms since the initial presentation mimics common dental infections & this may lead to delay in diagnosis and even misdiagnosis. Hence a thorough history taking, clinical examination and further investigation are vital to avoid a delay in diagnosis and or misdiagnosed.