Pattern of histologically diagnosed orofacial tumours and disparity in number managed at usmanu danfodiyo university teaching hospital Sokoto

Background: Histopathological studies remain the gold standard in tumour diagnosis. It is very necessary and bears a key role in the management of orofacial tumours. Aims and Objectives: This study aimed to present the pattern of histologically diagnosed tumours of the orofacial region and those that were actually managed. Materials and Methods: Ethical approval was obtained from the ethics and research committee of Usmanu Danfodiyo University Teaching Hospital Sokoto. Case notes of patients managed on account of orofacial tumours were retrieved. Clinical information, including patients’ demographic, histological diagnosis, nature of the tumour and treatment status, were extracted. Data were analysed using SPSS version 25. Results: There were 88 (56.4%) males and 68 (43.6%) in the age range of 2–87 years with a mean ± standard deviation of 34.5 ± 16.7 years. Most of the patients presenting with the tumours were in the third decade. The majority of the diagnosed tumours in this study were benign 101(64.7%) with follicular ameloblastoma 22(21.8%) being the commonest, whereas moderately squamous cell carcinoma20(36.4%) constitutes the majority of the malignancies. Among all tumour cases seen, 93 (59.6%) were surgically treated, 25 (16.0%) cases were referred for chemoradiation and the remaining cases, 38 (24.4%) were not treated. Conclusion: Follicular ameloblastoma was the most common benign tumour diagnosed, whereas moderately differentiated squamous cell carcinoma was the most common malignancy. The majority of the tumours were treated surgically. The untreated cases were mainly due to financial constraints.