SQUAMOUS-CELL CARCINOMA OF GINGIVA AND EDENTULOUS ALVEOLAR RIDGE - A CLINICOPATHOLOGICAL STUDY

All oral squamous cell carcinomas were retrieved from the files of Tem ple University's Oral Pathology Laboratory from 1967 through 1994 for a clinicopathologic study of those occurring on the gingiva. A total o f 1, 193 cases had sufficient data for tabulation and statistical anal ysis, of which 300 (25%) arose on the gingiva or alveolar ridge. The l argest number of these cases (211/300) occurred on the mandibular ging iva or alveolar ridge. The mean age of the patients was 66.66 years, w ith males accounting for 57% of cases. Many case comparison analyses o f oral squamous cell carcinomas do not separate oral subsites or speci fically address carcinoma of the gingiva. The results were compared wi th other published series and suggest that further studies are needed because of the wide range of reported figures on the incidence of ging ival squamous cell carcinomas.