Histopathological Diagnosis of 1,978 Oral Lesions over a Period of 22 Years in Cali, Colombia. A Retrospective Study

Abstract

Purpose:  Determine the frequency of histopathological diagnoses of 1978 biopsies of oral lesions in a period of 20 years in the city of Cali, Colombia. Methods: A retrospective descriptive observational study was conducted on 1978 histopathological diagnoses of biopsies of lesions in the oral cavity carried out during the period 2000-2022. The research is carried out in compliance with ethical requirements. The information was obtained from the records of biopsy reports of two oral pathologists from the city of Cali, the data collection was conducted by the seedbeds of 3 universities in Cali previously trained and calibrated. The information was unified in a single Excel database, the inclusion criteria were any age, any sex and complete reports. Descriptive statistical analysis was performed with the IBM SPSS Statics program. Results: Of the 1978 reports, 39 % corresponded to the male gender and 61% to the female gender. The average age was 45.33 ± 17.5 (Range 2-93). The most frequent histopathological diagnosis was hyperplasia (23.8 %), followed by granulomas (15.07 %). The gum (17.09 %), the periapical area (16.03 %) and the lips (13.30 %) were the sites that reported the most lesions. Histologically, connective tissue (51.82 %) and epithelial tissue (25.63 %) were the most reported, and the excisional biopsy technique was the most used (79.22 %). Conclusion: Hyperplastic oral lesions were the most frequent, they occurred more in women, in any site of the oral cavity and at any age. Proper diagnosis, performing biopsies and increasing evidence at the local and national level are especially important.