Aim of the Study: To study the cases of Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) reported at our institution with particular focus on the demographic and clinicopathologic variables in young adults. Setting and Design: It was a retrospective study of OSCC cases reported in the institution over the last decade i.e. from 2010 to 2019. Materials and Methods: Demographic and histopathologic data of oral cancer cases reported between 2010 and 2019 were retrieved from the records. Mean cut-off age for cases to be considered as those in young adults was set at 45 years or below and this formed the focus group of the study. The data obtained was tabulated and a comparative analysis was done for the focus group as compared to oral cancer cases in older population. Results: Results showed an increasing incidence of OSCC among young adults. The demographic and anatomic location of these cases showed significant variations from cases of oral cancer in older patients. Conclusion: The findings of our study indicate an increasing incidence of oral cancer among young adults in our region. The tongue and Retromolar Trigone (RMT) are the most common sites in these cases and even young patients had a history of long standing substance abuse including chewing tobacco and gutka/pan masala products. This indicates to a lack of or failure of governmental policies on the sale of such products leading to a generational shift in oral cancer from being a disease of the old to that of the young.

Histopathology, oral squamous cell carcinoma, Oral cancer, Tongue, Retromolar trigone