Abstract / Summary
Oral cancer constitutes a major oncological burden in India, with distinct subsite variations influenced by regional habits. Recent evidence suggests changing epidemiological patterns in tongue carcinoma, particularly among females. To compare female patients with oral tongue carcinoma and carcinoma of other oral subsites in Eastern India with respect to demographic characteristics, habit exposure, clinical presentation, laterality, and histopathological features, and to assess factors independently associated with carcinoma site. A retrospective institution-based comparative study was conducted among 250 female patients with histopathologically confirmed primary oral squamous cell carcinoma at a tertiary care hospital in West Bengal, Eastern India, between January 2024 and December 2025. Patients with oral tongue carcinoma were compared with those having carcinoma of other oral subsites based on demographic, habit-related, clinical, and histopathological characteristics. Chi-square/Fisher’s exact test, Welch’s t-test, and multivariable logistic regression were used for analysis. Tongue carcinoma constituted 23% of cases. Mean age did not differ significantly between tongue and other subsites ( P = 0.121). Smokeless tobacco and areca nut use were significantly associated with non-tongue subsites ( P < 0.001 and P = 0.004). Logistic regression demonstrated smokeless tobacco as an independent predictor of non-tongue cancers (adjusted OR = 0.40; P = 0.007). No significant associations were observed for smoking, alcohol, or histopathological grade. Female patients with oral tongue carcinoma demonstrated a different distribution of recorded habit-related exposures compared with those with carcinoma at other oral subsites, particularly with lower smokeless tobacco and areca nut use. These findings represent epidemiological differences in recorded risk-habit distribution and do not establish distinct biological mechanisms.