Abstract
BackgroundOnly few studies on tongue lesions considered sizable populations, and contemporary literature does not provide a valid report regarding the epidemiology of tongue lesions within the Italian population. In this report, the histopathological and clinical appearance of 1.106 tongue lesions from northern Italians are described and discussed.Material and MethodsThe case records of patients referred for the diagnosis and management of tongue lesions, from October 1993 to October 2013, were reviewed. Histological data were also obtained and blindly reexamined.ResultsFor instance, a biopsy performed on a lingual ulcer has a strong predicting association with a carcinoma, whereas a biopsy on a white lesion predicts for a leukoplakia or oral lichen planus. Moreover, a biopsy of erosion is representative of bullous diseases, whereas a biopsy on a verrucous-papillary lesion is significant for fibroma. Furthermore, carcinomas occur in the majority of cases on the lingual edge or pelvis, oral lichen planus is mainly seen on the edge, and fibromas mostly on the lingual tip.ConclusionsThe high frequency of tongue involvement of such different diseases emphasizes the importance of histological characterization and that some diseases occur more frequently than others, with a peculiar clinical aspect and a more common area. In fact our survey can help the clinician in advancing diagnostic hypothesis, on the basis of the elementary lesion and its site of involvement. Key words:Tongue lesions, clinical appearance, histological description.
Highlights
Medical literature offers no many surveys investigating the rate of lingual diseases following biopsy
Carcinomas occur in the majority of cases on the lingual edge or pelvis, oral lichen planus is mainly seen on the edge, and fibromas mostly on the lingual tip
Our aim was to evaluate the correlation between the clinical variables taken into consideration and each individual disease of tongue lesions in a wide northern Italian population
Summary
Medical literature offers no many surveys investigating the rate of lingual diseases following biopsy. Most researches analysed more than so-called pseudo-diseases which are diagnosed by means of a clinical examination [1,2,3], or else, involving biopsies, concentrate on the whole oral mucosa [4]. Despite the abundance of the worldwide surveys on the prevalence of tongue lesions, reviewing the literature revealed the lack of studies that explored whether the affected subjects were aware of the existence of their tongue lesions. Our aim was to evaluate the correlation between the clinical variables taken into consideration (i.e. involvement site and elementary lesion) and each individual disease of tongue lesions in a wide northern Italian population. Few studies on tongue lesions considered sizable populations, and contemporary literature does not provide a valid report regarding the epidemiology of tongue lesions within the Italian population. Our survey can help the clinician in advancing diagnostic hypothesis, on the basis of the elementary lesion and its site of involvement
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