Histopathological Variants of Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma Operated at a Cancer Institute in North India

Conventional oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is one of the most common cancers of the head and neck region. However, histopathological variants of conventional oral squamous cell carcinoma also exist, which range from highly aggressive to those with good prognosis. Here, we present a case series of different histopathological variants of conventional OSCC treated at our institute. A retrospective chart review was performed to search for squamous cell carcinoma of the oral cavity, which were operated at Rohilkhand Cancer Institute, Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh, India, from August 2018 till December 2023. Electronic database was searched for this purpose, and the histopathological variants of oral squamous cell carcinoma that underwent curative intent surgery including neck dissection, with or without adjuvant treatment were included in the form of case series. Clinico-pathological details of the histopathological variants were recorded and assessed. Treatment given and the status of the patients after the treatment were also noted wherever possible. A total of 421 cases of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) treated at our institute from August 2018 till December 2023 were identified. Out of these, there were 408 cases (97%) of conventional OSCC, while the remaining 13(3.1%) were the rare histopathological variants of conventional OSCC, which included 2 cases (0.5%) of acantholytic squamous cell carcinoma (ASCC), 7 cases (1.7%) of sarcomatoid squamous cell carcinoma (SSCC), and 4 cases (1%) of verrucous squamous cell carcinoma (VSCC). Both ASCC and SSCC showed poor prognosis despite adjuvant treatment in the form of CTRT, while VSCC showed good prognosis despite not receiving any adjuvant treatment. SSCC and ASCC are highly aggressive tumors, while VSCC has a good prognosis.