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Objective: This study aimed to explore perceived barriers to early diagnosis and management of oral cancer, as well as potential pathways for improvement in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC)., Methods: This cross-sectional study used a self-administered online questionnaire created via the Research Electronic Data Capture platform. The survey was distributed to health professionals trained in Oral Medicine, Oral Pathology, Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, and Dentists with clinical and academic expertise in oral potentially malignant disorder (OPMD) and oral cancer. Data obtained were systematically organized and analyzed descriptively using Microsoft Excel., Results: Twenty-three professionals from 21 LAC countries participated. Major barriers included the limited implementation of OPMD and oral cancer control plans (17.4%), low compulsory reporting for OPMD (8.7%) and oral cancer (34.8%), unclear referral pathways for OPMD (34.8%) and oral cancer (43.5%), and a shortage of trained professionals (8.7%). Participants endorsed the utility of online education (100%) and telemedicine (91.3%)., Conclusion: The survey highlights major perceived barriers to early diagnosis and management of OPMD and oral cancer in LAC, as well as potential avenues for improvement., (© 2024 Wiley Periodicals LLC.)

Objective: To determine the frequency of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) associated or not with oral potentially malignant disorders (OPMD), and the epidemiological profile and traditional risk factors in Latin America., Methods: A retrospective observational study was conducted in 17 Latin American centres. There were included cases of OSCC, analysing age, gender, OSCC and their association with previous OPMD. Clinicopathological variables were retrieved. The condition of sequential-OSCC versus OSCC-de novo (OSCC-dn) was analysed concerning the aforementioned variables. Quantitative variables were analysed using Student's t-test, and qualitative variables with chi-square., Results: In total, 2705 OSCC were included with a mean age of 62.8 years old. 55.8% were men. 53.75% of the patients were smokers and 38% were common drinkers. The lateral tongue border was the most affected site (24.65%). There were regional variations in OPMD, being leukoplakia the most frequent. Of the overall 2705 OSCC cases, 81.4% corresponded to OSCC-dn, while s-OSCC were 18.6%. Regarding lip vermillion SCC, 35.7% corresponded to de novo lip SCC and 64.3% were associated with previous OPMD., Conclusions: In Latin America, OSCC-dn seems to be more frequent with regional variations of some clinical and histopathological features. Further prospective studies are needed to analyse this phenomenon., (© 2023 Wiley Periodicals LLC.)