ORAL SQUAMOUS CELL CARCINOMA (OSCC): REVIEW AND HISTOLOGICAL TYPES

Review of Oral SCC

Abstract

Evidence of head and neck cancers has been found in ancient skulls. The oldest known tumour is contained in a fossil found in East Africa by Leakey that dates back more than 500,000 years. It is speculated by some historians that there may have been high incidence of nasopharyngeal carcinoma in some ancient populations because of wood smoke inhalation in poorly ventilated huts. Hippocrates, in approximately 400 BC, described a common chronic ulcer at the edge of the tongue that he attributed to the presence of sharp teeth rubbing against the tongue¹