Table 1.

Clinical and histological characteristics of the various study groups

Criteria	Group I	Group II	Group III
	Premalignant lesions (n = 50)	OSCC (n = 50)	Controls (n = 20)
Age ≤ 40 yrs	28 56%	8 16%	12 60%
≥40 yrs	22 44%	42 84%	8 40%
Sex Females	2 4%	14 28%	4 20%
Males	48 96%	36 72%	16 80%
Site Buccal Mucosa(BM)	40 leukoplakia	44 BM with vest. ridge	----
Palate	4 smoker’s palate	2
Tongue	2 leukoplakia	2
Floor of mouth		2
Tobacco Use No	0	0	20
Yes	50	50	0
Histological Diagnosis	Mild 10 20%	WDSCC 30 60%	---
	Moderate 34 68%	MDSCC 16 32%
	Severe 2 4%	PDSCC 2 4 %
	Hyperkeratosis 4 8%	No evidence of 2 4%
	without dysplasia	Malignancy