Abstract
ObjectiveTo evaluate the impact of Oral Potentially Malignant Disorders (OPMD) on daily life activities.Materials and methodsPatients diagnosed with Oral Leukoplakia, Oral submucous fibrosis and Oral Lichen Planus attending the Oral Medicine clinic of Panineeya Institute of Dental Sciences & Research Centre, Hyderabad, India were invited to participate. Eighteen interviews and three focus groups were conducted in a non-clinical setting. Voice recordings were transcribed and translated from Telugu to English. Data coding was performed using the NVivo software.ResultsSample size for this qualitative study comprised 32 patients. Four main themes emerged: (1) difficulties with diagnosis and knowledge about the condition, (2) physical impairment and functional limitations, (3) psychological and social wellbeing and (4) effects of treatment on daily life. In a majority of the patients, most of the interview time was spent discussing physical impairment and functional limitations. Patients also reported their mouth condition having a debilitating effect on their psychological well-being and social interactions.Conclusions‘Physical impairment and functional limitations’ was the most important theme for many of the patients. However, the impacts of OPMD also extended beyond physical impairment and functional limitations to aspects of daily living, notably psychological and social wellbeing.
Highlights
Oral Potentially Malignant Disorders (OPMDs) are those lesions and conditions that have an increased potential for malignant transformation and are risk indicators of future malignancies [1]
Patients diagnosed with Oral Leukoplakia, Oral submucous fibrosis and Oral Lichen Planus attending the Oral Medicine clinic of Panineeya Institute of Dental Sciences & Research Centre, Hyderabad, India were invited to participate
Erythroplakia, Oral Leukoplakia (OL), and Oral Submucous Fibrosis (OSF) are habit-related OPMDs with tobacco users being at increased risk of developing Erythroplakia and OL while OSF is associated with areca/betel nut usage [6, 7]
Summary
Oral Potentially Malignant Disorders (OPMDs) are those lesions and conditions that have an increased potential for malignant transformation and are risk indicators of future malignancies [1]. A wide range of conditions that predispose oral mucosa to malignant transformation are considered as OPMDs [2] [3]. The most important OPMDs that have malignant potential are Erythroplakia, Oral Leukoplakia (OL), Oral Lichen Planus (OLP), Oral Submucous Fibrosis (OSF) and Actinic Keratosis [1, 5]. OLP and actinic keratosis are non-habit related, being immunologically mediated and sun exposure related potentially malignant disorders respectively [8, 9]. The impact of OPMD on an affected individual’s life is multidimensional, like that of oral or most other malignancies. Patients diagnosed and treated for oral malignancies have been found to experience poor quality of life (QoL), and many urge that QoL assessments be a standard criterion for evaluation of oral cancer patients and their response to treatment [13, 14]
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