Detection of Helicobacter pylori in Patients with Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma and Oral Potentially Malignant Disorders at a Tertiary Care Centre in Gujarat: A Case-Control Study

Abstract

Introduction: Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) contribute to 90% of cancer cases in head and neck region and entails remarkable morbidity and mortality inspite of immense research and advances. Amongst other causes, infection with Helicobacter pylori is an emerging cause of OSCC. There is still perplexity in the exact etiopathogenesis of H. pylori related oral cancer.Aim: In order to explore this much unattended area, present study was aimed to find out the association between H. pylori in premalignant disorders and OSCC. Materials and methods: A Prospective case-control Pilot study of 35 patients (11 confirmed cases of Oral squamous cell carcinoma and 24 with oral potentially malignant disorders along with 15 age and sex matched healthy control) from June 2018 - September 2018 was conducted in the Department of Microbiology, Smt. B. K. Shah Medical Institute, Piparia, Gujarat. H. pylori was detected by methods like Rapid urease test, Gram’s staining and Serology. Results: H. pylori was detected in five cases with OSCC with male predominance and mean age 45.6 yrs. All the five positive patients were severely addicted to tobacco and betel quid since decades. Tobacco was found to be the major risk of OSCC with the OD of 16.19, followed by betel quid (OD-4.56) and H. pylori infection (OD-0.83). Conclusion: The results of this pilot study do not establish a definite causal relationship between H. pylori and OSCC due to the low sample size. Study definitely offers an avenue for further work on larger populations to confirm this possible association.

Keywords

• oral squamous cell carcinoma
• tobacco
• smoking and betel quid