Oral leukoplakia: demographic, clinical and histopathological characteristics

Abstract

Objective Oral leukoplakia (OL) is the most common precancerous lesion of the oral mucosa with an etiology mainly related to tobacco and alcohol use. Although the most common location is the buccal mucosa, it may also affect other areas of the oral mucosa. Histopathologically, the spectrum of lesions ranges from squamous hyperplasia unaccompanied by dysplasia, to that with mild, moderate and severe dysplasia. The greatest determinant of malignant transformation is the presence of dysplasia and its severity.Methods This is a retrospective study and, data of the patients receiving clinical and histopathalogical diagnosis of oral leukoplakia at the Council for Facial and Mouth Lesions at Ege University Faculty of Medicine (EGEYA) between 2007 and 2015 was used including demographic details accessed from council information forms and photo archives.Results Of the 79 patients, 40 were male (50.6%) and 39 (49.4%) were female. Patients were aged between 18-91, with a mean overall age of 58.73 ± 17.95 years. Evaluation of the risk factors revealed that 45 patients (56.9%) were smokers, and alcohol was regularly consumed by 22 patients (27.8%). Most of the lesions were located in the buccal mucosa (34.4%). Homogenous OL was seen in 39 patients (49.4%) and nonhomogeneous OL in 40 patients (50.6%). The most reported histologic diagnosis was 37 (46.8%) cases of squamous hyperplasia (SH) and hyperkeratosis.Conclusion To minimize the risk of malignant transformation in leukoplakia lesions, the elimination of risk factors and early biopsy is essential.