Title

Prevalence of potentially malignant disorders in oral cancer among tobacco and arecanut chewers: A clinicopathological study

Authors

Manoj Meena¹, Monika Sharma², Jai Kishan Meena³, Ila Verma⁴, Tarang K Mehta⁵, Sukriti Paul^6,* & Dhanu Priya Patel⁷

Affiliation

¹Department of Oral Medicine and Radiology, Rajasthan Dental College and Hospital, Jaipur, Rajasthan, India; ²Department of Dentistry, Government Medical College, Bharatpur, Rajasthan, India; ³Department of Public Health Dentistry, Jaipur Dental College, Jaipur, Rajasthan, India; ⁴Department of Public Health Dentistry, DAPM RV Dental College, Bangalore, Karnataka, India; ⁵Department of Oral & Maxillofacial Pathology and Oral Microbiology, K M Shah Dental College & Hospital, Sumandeep Vidyapeeth Deemed to be University, Vadodara, Gujarat, India; ⁶Department of Oral Medicine and Radiology, College of Dental Science and Hospital, Indore, Madhya Pradesh, India; ⁷Department of Pedodontics, Daswani Dental College and Research Centre, Kota, Rajasthan, India; *Corresponding author

Email

Manoj Meena- E-mail: meenadrmanoj@gmail.com
Monika Sharma - E-mail: mailmonicasharma@gmail.com
Jai Kishan Meena- E-mail: jaikishan7770@gmail.com
Ila Verma -Email: ilaverma1114@gmail.com
Tarang K Mehta - E-mail: tarangmehta111@gmail.com
Sukriti Paul - E-mail: drsukritipaul@gmail.com
Dhanu Priya Patel - E-mail: dhanupriyapatel@gmail.com

Article Type

Research Article

Date

Received August 1, 2026; Revised August 31, 2026; Accepted August 31, 2026, Published August 31, 2026

Abstract

Tobacco and areca nut consumption in the form of quid is associated with oral potentially malignant disorders (OPMDs) and oral cancer. This cross-sectional analytical study included 2400 quid users aged ≥18 years and clinical diagnosis was made using modified WHO criteria with histopathological confirmation wherever required. OPMDs were observed in 1305 (54.3%) participants, with a higher prevalence among males and individuals aged 18–23 years, showing statistically significant association (p < 0.05). Oral leukoplakia (33.7%) and oral submucous fibrosis (27.6%) were the most common lesions, while oral cancer was seen in 1.2% of cases. Thus, data shows the need for early screening, awareness and preventive strategies to reduce the burden of oral malignancies among quid users.

Keywords

Oral potentially malignant disorders (OPMDs); tobacco; areca nut; quid; oral leukoplakia; oral submucous fibrosis; oral cancer; prevalence; rural population; risk factors

Citation

Meena et al. Bioinformation 22(8): 4857-4862 (2026)

Edited by

Vini Mehta

ISSN

0973-2063

Publisher

Biomedical Informatics

License

This is an Open Access article which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly credited. This is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License.