Abstract:
Leukoplakia and erythroplakia are the two most common
potentially malignant disorders of the oral cavity. The prognosis
and overall survival of a patient with oral cancer is
dependent on the early detection of any lesion that might
identify a patient with higher risk than normal or with early
infiltration before metastatic disease. The role of the general
dentist cannot be overstressed and the aim of this brief
summary is to give the general practitioner an overview on
the current concepts relating to these disorders.
Leukoplakia and erythroplakia were traditionally known as
two “precancerous lesions of the oral mucosa”. The term
“precancer” defines all lesions classified as such to have a
“precancerous nature” implying that all of them will eventually
become malignant. Through the years it became known
that even clinically normal mucosa may show features of
dysplasia and in some instances molecular aberrations of
early malignant transformation may be found in the mucosa
of a patient without any clinical lesions or dysplasia. The
consensus view then was to introduce the term: “potentially
malignant disorders” (PMD) reflecting the more generalised
mucosal involvement in these patients. It remains a challenge
to predict the behaviour of any of these lesions but
early detection thereof remains the best chance any oral
cancer patient will have for survival.
