Abstract
Four hundred and twenty‐six cases of verrucous carcinoma of the oral cavity were detected jointly by the Department of Oral Pathology, Dental College and Department of Pathology, Medical College, Trivandrum, during the period from January 1975 to December 1984. They constituted 5.27 per cent of 7988 primary malignant neoplasms of the oral cavity detected during the period. There were 276 men and 150 women with an average age of 67.5 years. The maximum incidence was noted in the sixth decade of life. The highest incidence was observed in the buccal mucosa, followed by tongue, alveolus, and lips. These patients had no associated malignancies but leukoplakia was observed consistently in all cases. All had chewing and/or smoking habits. Most of the patients were treated surgically. Twenty‐six patients reporting back with recurrence were given radiotherapy and followed for a period of 30 months. Among the 26, 18 patients showed recurrence at the local site. Surgery seems to be the treatment of choice for verrucous carcinoma. The aetiopathogenesis of the tumour is discussed.