Towards Targeted Screening: Smoking, Alcohol, and Demographic Predictors in Oral Cancer Development

Introduction. Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) remains a major global health challenge. Tobacco use, alcohol consumption, male sex, and age are among the leading modifiable risk factors. Risk stratification is essential to improving screening and prognosis. The aim of the study. To assess the role of smoking, alcohol, and demographic factors in the occurrence of oral cancer. Materials and methods. A total of 200 individuals were classified into four clinical groups: healthy controls, oral lichen planus, leukoplakia, and oral cancer. Data on age, sex, smoking, and alcohol consumption were collected. Descriptive statistics, analysis of variance (ANOVA), chi-square tests, logistic regression, and Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) analysis were used to assess the distribution and predictive value of risk factors. Results. ROC analysis demonstrated varying predictive abilities for different risk models. Age alone yielded moderate accuracy (area under the curve (AUC) - 0.69), slightly improved by adding sex (AUC = 0.71). Smoking intensity showed stronger predictive power (AUC = 0.73). The combined model - incorporating age, sex, smoking, and alcohol use - achieved excellent performance with an AUC of 0.95, indicating high accuracy in distinguishing cancer cases from non-cancer individuals. Conclusions. Behavioral and demographic factors act cumulatively in OSCC development. High-risk individuals - older males who smoke and drink - should be prioritized for targeted screening.

• Publication year

  2025

• Venue

  Lviv Clinical Bulletin

• Publication date

  2025-09-26

• Fields of study

  Not labeled

• Identifiers
  DOI 10.25040/lkv2025.03.008
• External record

  Open on Semantic Scholar

• Source metadata

  Semantic Scholar

• No claims are published for this paper.

• No concepts are published for this paper.

• Burden of oral cancer and associated risk factors at national and state levels: A systematic analysis from the global burden of disease in India, 1990-2021.

  2024cited by this paper
• Oral cancer in young adults: incidence, risk factors, prognosis, and molecular biomarkers

  2024cited by this paper
• Cancer statistics, 2024

  2024cited by this paper
• Oral Cavity Squamous Cell Carcinoma Risk Factors: State of the Art

  2023cited by this paper
• Analysis of Risk Factors of Oral Cancer and Periodontitis from a Sex- and Gender-Related Perspective: Gender Dentistry

  2022cited by this paper
• Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma in Young Patients Show Higher Rates of EGFR Amplification: Implications for Novel Personalized Therapy

  2021cited by this paper
• Global Cancer Statistics 2020: GLOBOCAN Estimates of Incidence and Mortality Worldwide for 36 Cancers in 185 Countries

  2021cited by this paper
• Risk factors for head and neck cancer in the World Trade Center Health Program General Responder Cohort: results from a nested case–control study

  2019cited by this paper
• Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Association of Smokeless Tobacco and of Betel Quid without Tobacco with Incidence of Oral Cancer in South Asia and the Pacific

  2014cited by this paper
• Strengthening the prevention of oral cancer: the WHO perspective.

  2005cited by this paper

• No citing papers are available for this paper.