title: Oral and maxillofacial pathology submitted to Rizgary Teaching Hospital: a 6-year retrospective study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The majority of surveys concerning oral pathology accessions have focused on specific pathological categories or particular age groups, and few studies have analysed the whole range of specimens submitted for histopathological examination. An analysis of all oral pathology submitted to the Department of Histopathology in Rizgary Teaching Hospital in Erbil, Iraq, during the 6-year period 2008-2013, was performed.
  
  
  METHODS
  Histopathology samples (excluding smears) from the maxillae, mandible, salivary glands, the lips and oral mucosa, the tongue, the hard and soft palate and uvula, and the pillars of the fauces were included. The specimens were grouped into six diagnostic categories: oral mucosal and skin pathology; benign neoplasms; malignant neoplasms; non-neoplastic salivary gland disorders; cysts; and miscellaneous pathology.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The total number of oral and maxillofacial specimens was 616 of 20,571 specimens. One-third of the oral and maxillofacial specimens were in the mucosal and skin pathology category, followed by benign neoplasms (24.2%) - of which 26.8% were odontogenic tumours and 42.6% were salivary gland tumours - and malignant neoplasms (n = 100, 16.2%). Neoplastic (n = 62) and non-neoplastic (n = 41) salivary gland disorders accounted for 16.7% (n = 103) of the specimens submitted, whereas odontogenic cysts (n = 34) and tumours (n = 40) comprised 5.5% and 6.5% of all biopsies.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Many of our findings are consistent with those reported in the literature. However, a relatively larger proportion of neoplastic lesions were found in our cohort and in other Iraqi centres. Of concern to practising clinicians in Iraq is that one in 10 biopsies submitted was a squamous cell carcinoma and three in 20 accessions were malignant.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Dentistry, Sir John Walsh Research Institute, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand.
authors.forename: Muhammed
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yakin
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, College of Medicine, Hawler Medical University, Erbil, Iraq.|Department of Histopathology, Rizgary Teaching Hospital, Erbil, Iraq.
authors.forename: Jalal A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Jalal
authors.affiliation: Department of Histopathology, Rizgary Teaching Hospital, Erbil, Iraq.
authors.forename: Luay E
authors.initials: LE
authors.lastname: Al-Khurri
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Dentistry, Sir John Walsh Research Institute, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand.
authors.forename: Alison M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Rich
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000453:epidemiology; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003560:Cysts / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006784:Hospitals, Teaching; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007493:Iraq / Q000453:epidemiology; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009059:Mouth Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology*; D009062:Mouth Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology*; D009807:Odontogenic Cysts / Q000453:epidemiology; D009808:Odontogenic Tumors / Q000453:epidemiology; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012466:Salivary Gland Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology; D012468:Salivary Gland Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Oral pathology; oral cancer