leukoplakia – Oral Cancer News

Leukoplakia: causes, symptoms, and treatment

Source: www.dentalnewspk.com Author: Dr Amna Bilal Have you ever encountered white patches or spots on your tongue or inside your cheeks? Leukoplakia, a disorder in which white lesions develop inside the mouth, may be the cause. You may have leukoplakia, a mouth condition if you've observed white patches in your mouth that don't appear to go away. Leukoplakia is more common in areas of the mouth with mucous membranes, such as the gums, the inside of the cheek, and the tongue. The skin around the mouth becomes thicker as a result of this condition, and white patches start to appear there. A mouth condition called leukoplakia affects 1% to 2% of people. Most cases involve men over the age of 50, and it typically affects people over the age of 40. Leukoplakia is uncommonly diagnosed in people under the age of 30. Leukoplakia can be challenging for clinicians to identify because some of its symptoms are shared by those of other frequent disorders and diseases of the mouth. However, a proper diagnosis of leukoplakia is required before a biopsy may be performed. Leukoplakia-related lesions can potentially develop malignant cells, resulting in oral and mouth cancer. Leukoplakia: What is it? The condition known as leukoplakia manifests as a white or a grey area on the tongue, the inside of the cheek, or the floor of the mouth. It is the mouth's response to persistent (chronic) mouth mucous membrane irritation. The female genital area can also develop leukoplakia patches, albeit the reason [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2022-10-24T06:17:17-07:00October, 2022|Oral Cancer News|

Another vaping hazard: less-healthy mouths

Source: www.usnews.com/ Author: Serena Gordon, HealthDay Reporter Your lungs might not be your only concern if you're trying electronic cigarettes -- your mouth may pay the price, too. Vaping alters the natural bacteria found in the mouth, leaving you more vulnerable to oral infections and inflammation, a new study reports. The researchers said this study is the first to show that vaping can alter the natural balance of beneficial bacteria (microbiome) in the mouth, adding to the list of potential health effects associated with e-cigarette use. "Cells that are exposed to e-cigarettes are more susceptible to infections," said the study's senior author, Deepak Saxena. He's a professor of basic science and craniofacial biology at NYU College of Dentistry in New York City. Saxena said that e-cigarettes also lead to increased inflammation, which harms oral health. And once someone develops inflammation, it's possible to develop white patches in the mouth called leukoplakia that sometimes develop into cancer. However, this study doesn't have enough long-term evidence to show whether or not these changes could lead to oral cancers in the future, Saxena said. "Our study is just one piece of this big puzzle on e-cigarettes, and I would advise people to not use them. If you have not started, don't start. Nicotine is highly addictive," he said. A U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report from November suggested that as many as one out of every five U.S. high school students had vaped in the last month. That's especially concerning since [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2020-02-27T09:26:31-07:00February, 2020|Oral Cancer News|

Management strategies for oral potentially malignant disorders

Source: www.medscape.com Author: Joel M. Laudenbach, DMD Oral potentially malignant disorders (OPMDs) include oral leukoplakia (OL), oral erythroplakia, oral submucous fibrosis, oral lichen planus, proliferative verrucous leukoplakia, and actinic keratosis. Once an OPMD has been clinically diagnosed, execution of management strategy is critical. When formulating the strategy, healthcare providers should consider histopathology, lesion characteristics (ie, surface texture, unifocal, multifocal), lesion location in the mouth (ie, tongue, floor of mouth), patient risk factor assessment, and a detailed medical/cancer history. In this newly published article, Nadeau and Kerr[1] detail various parameters surrounding evaluation and management of OPMDs. The authors make it clear that OPMDs are challenging, each with their own nuances regarding risk for malignant transformation. For example, when OL is unifocal, nonhomogeneous, nodular, or verrucous, there is a much higher chance of the OL becoming dysplastic (12.63-fold) or demonstrating a focus of carcinoma (8.9-fold) when compared with homogeneous types of OLs.[1] Provider knowledge of these variables is critical when counseling patients about their diagnosis and management options and when selecting interventions along with follow-up care. Although progression to malignancy is difficult to predict with OPMDs, clinicians can account for multiple risk factors such as smoking/alcohol status, high-risk location in the oral cavity, and size of lesion (>200 mm2) to help formulate a tailored management plan for each patient. Consultation with an oral pathologist to discuss the histologic appearance in the context of specific patient history and lesion characteristics can provide additional perspective and/or recommendations. Modifiable oral cavity cancer risks related to [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2018-03-16T07:46:35-07:00March, 2018|Oral Cancer News|

Smokeless tobacco, snuff, chew not safe substitutes for cigarettes

Source: www.bnd.com Author: staff As many people are aware, the use of any type of tobacco can lead to major health risks. Many individuals think using smokeless tobacco or chew can be a safe substitute for cigarettes. A mock model of how dangerous and destructive tobacco products, specifically smokeless tobacco, can be to someone’s health and well-being. Navy photo by Douglas H. Stutz, Naval Hospital Bremerton Public Affairs Tobacco companies often lead people to believe this; however, this is not true. There is no proof that any smokeless tobacco products help smokers quit smoking. Smokeless tobacco has four times the amount of nicotine than a cigarette and also contains 30 chemicals known to cause cancers. A few of these cancers include mouth, tongue, cheek, and gum cancer. Additionally, cancer can be found in the esophagus and pancreas. Along with these health risks there are other problems, including mouth and teeth problems and tooth loss. Many studies have shown that high rates of leukoplakia in the mouth were found where individuals hold the chew. Leukoplakia is a white patch in the mouth that could potentially turn into cancer. The white patches, sometimes called sores, within the mouth cannot be scraped off but usually do not cause pain. The longer the use of oral tobacco, the more prone an individual is to develop leukoplakia. Stopping tobacco use usually allows leukoplakia to heal, however, treatment may be needed if there are signs of early cancer. Along with these issues, there are [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2017-11-27T08:15:41-07:00November, 2017|Oral Cancer News|

Mouth cancer survivor: Dental check ups saved my life

Source: www.express.co.uk Author: Elaine McLaren “Nobody particularly enjoys visits to the dentist and I’m no exception, but I’ve always looked after my teeth and have never missed a six-month check. So that day back in May 2009, I wasn’t expecting there to be any problems. I hadn’t been in any pain or discomfort, so I was surprised when the dentist voiced his concern. ‘There’s a white patch on the side of your tongue,’ he told me through his mask. ‘It’s probably nothing but you should get it checked out by your GP, just to be on the safe side.’ Examination over, I sat up in the chair as he explained what he thought it could be – a condition called leukoplakia, which was harmless in its mild form and often disappeared without the need for treatment. So when, a few days later, I was sitting opposite my GP, I was shocked to hear the condition was closely linked to mouth cancer. My heart sank at the mere mention of the word. Just seven years earlier, I’d lost my dad to lung cancer. My thoughts immediately turned to my own children, Grace, who was then only eight, and Daniel, five, and whether they’d have to go through the same trauma as I had with Dad. As quickly as the notion had entered my head, I brushed it aside. I was only 38 then, I didn’t smoke or drink heavily and I ate healthily. Nothing made me a high risk. But that [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2015-07-13T13:33:09-07:00July, 2015|Oral Cancer News|

Noninvasive oral cancer test eases patient fears

Source: www.drbicuspid.com Author: Donna Domino, Features Editor A new, noninvasive cytology test for oral cancer, ClearPrep OC, is being offered free to dentists. The test, aimed at "watch and wait" lesions, is less expensive than biopsies and less frightening for patients, according to Resolution Biomedical, the company that is commercializing it. The chairside oral cancer test -- which can be ordered directly from the company -- is designed to be a diagnostic option for assessing lesions when a biopsy is not warranted or the patient fears getting a biopsy, according to Donald Williams, MD, chief medical officer of Resolution Biomedical. The test involves a cyto-brush sampling method that measures gross changes in the nuclear DNA content of oral epithelial cells, providing information about the precancerous or cancerous state of a lesion, the company explained. The samples are sent to medical testing labs, and the report is sent to the dentist within four to five days, the same time frame as biopsies. Dentists send the samples to the company, which prepares the slides and sends them to labs, which prepare a diagnostic report for the dentists. "It's a way to triage patients where something may be suspicious but the patient is balking about getting a biopsy," Dr. Williams told DrBicuspid.com. "It could be leukoplakia lesions or thrush instead of an indication of a neoplasm. It rules out biopsies without an invasive process." When dentists refer patients to periodontists to get biopsies of suspicious lesions, many patients don't follow through on the [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2013-03-23T10:22:46-07:00March, 2013|Oral Cancer News|

Decoding the oral leukoplakia/oral cancer link

Source: www.drbicuspid.com Author: DrBicuspid Staff Is there a direct relationship between oral leukoplakia and tobacco and alcohol consumption? Do all oral leukoplakias lead to oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC)? Is it possible to detect premalignant oral leukoplakia? These are some of the questions a recent literature review in Oral Diseases attempted to answer (January 11, 2013). A team of researchers from Italy, Spain, the U.K., and the U.S. did a literary search of Medline/PubMed, Embase, and Best Evidence from January 1966 to June 2012. Search terms included leukoplakia, oral leukoplakia, preneoplastic oral, precancerous oral, oral precancerous, oral dysplasia, oral mucosal lesion, proliferative verrucous leukoplakia, multifocal leukoplakias, tobacco, and alcohol. The searches were designed to help the study authors address four key questions: 1.Do tobacco and alcohol cause oral leukoplakias? 2.What percentage of oral leukoplakias evolve into OSCC? 3.Can practitioners distinguish between premalignant and innocent oral leukoplakias? 4.Is proliferative verrucous leukoplakia (PVL) a specific entity or just a form of multifocal leukoplakia? For the purposes of this study, the term oral leukoplakia was used to recognize "predominantly white plaques of questionable risk, having excluded (other) known diseases or disorders that carry no increased risk of cancer." Tobacco, alcohol, and oral leukoplakia Although oral leukoplakia is generally considered one of the primary clinical precursors of OSCC, "the role of alcohol and smoking in this disorder has never been thoroughly assessed," the researchers wrote. "Existing evidence suggests that tobacco and alcohol could be associated with at least a subset of [oral leukoplakia]." It [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2013-03-18T11:47:44-07:00March, 2013|Oral Cancer News|

Periodontitis increases risk of oral leukoplakia

Source: www.drbicuspid.com Author: Donna Domino, Features Editor Periodontitis increases the risk of developing oral leukoplakia and mucosal lesions that are predisposed to become oral cancer, according to a study in Oral Oncology (September 2012, Vol. 48:9, pp. 859-863). The findings provide clues into the complex relationship between systemic and local disease, noted the study authors from the University of Greifswald in Germany. The development of oral cancer proceeds through discrete molecular changes that are acquired from loss of genomic integrity after continued exposure to environmental risk factors. It is preceded in the majority of cases by clinically evident, potentially malignant oral disorders, the most common of which is leukoplakia, the researchers noted. Leukoplakia is an asymptomatic lesion in the oral mucosa. Oral cancer -- especially oral squamous cell carcinoma -- often develops out of these lesions, they added. Studies have shown that as many as 18% of oral premalignant lesions will develop into oral cancer. In addition, periodontal sites are often involved in proliferative types of leukoplakia. The oral cancer rate attributed to leukoplakia is between six and 29 per 100,000, according to the authors. Smoking and drinking alcohol are the main risk factors for this disease, but acute infections in the oral cavity may contribute to the risk. Inflammatory markers The study evaluated 4,310 German residents ages 20 to79 from 1997 to 2001. After five years, 3,300 participants were available for follow-up. The periodontal assessment included probing depth, clinical attachment loss, plaque, bleeding on probing, and the number of [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2012-10-04T14:06:25-07:00October, 2012|Oral Cancer News|

Photodynamic therapy targets oral dysplasia, oral bacteria

Source: www.drbicuspid.com Author: Kathy Kincade, Editor in Chief Imagine being able to treat a suspicious lesion on a patient's tongue simply by applying a topical agent, waiting a few minutes, then exposing it to light from a handheld laser or light-emitting diode (LED) device. Imagine being able to treat bacterial and fungal infections in the oral cavity, even periodontal disease, using this same approach. That is the promise of photodynamic therapy (PDT), a minimally invasive technique that first came into medicine in the early 1900s and has been used to treat a plethora of medical conditions, including skin diseases, localized infections, age-related macular degeneration, and premalignant and malignant disorders. "PDT in the oral cavity would utilize a photosensitizing compound and a light source to activate the compound," explained Thomas Mang, PhD, research director in the Laser and Lightwave Research Center at the University at Buffalo School of Dental Medicine. "Traditionally, it has been used in head and neck lesions and oral lesions with a photosensitizer given intravenously. But in applications related to early oral lesions and those involving candida and oral species that may be involved with periodontal disease, we look to apply it topically." Distinct advantages Mang has been investigating PDT disinfection of oral biofilm and previously was involved with the development of PDT for treating cutaneous and other cancers while at Roswell Park Cancer Institute. He sees a bright future for PDT in dentistry, providing more selectivity and flexibility when treating patients with early oral lesions and microbial [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2012-10-04T13:43:26-07:00October, 2012|Oral Cancer News|

Oral cancer and cultural factors in Asia

Source: findarticles.com Authors: Sherry L Priebe, Jolanta Aleksejuniene, Shafik Dharamsi, Christopher Zed Abstract: Oral cancer is on the rise worldwide, with over 200,000 cases diagnosed yearly. The predisposing social and cultural habits related to this disease acquired in resource-poor countries in Southeast Asia remain prevalent among its users following migration to other and better resourced countries. As a result, countries that once rarely experienced high levels of oral cancer will likely see an increased incidence of this disease. Therefore, oral health professionals need to be aware of the cultural risk factors and the resulting oral health effects in order to respond effectively to the increasing incidence of oral cancer. The objective of this overview is to inform what is known about populations from resource poor countries in Asia in regards to oral cancer and its related cultural factors. Introduction: The social and cultural habits that may predispose people to oral cancer are common in resource-poor countries in Southeast Asia, and remain prevalent among its users following migration to other and better resourced countries. As a result, countries that once rarely experienced high levels of oral cancer will likely see a considerable increase of this disease. It has been suggested that following migration from these countries to North America, the habit has remained prevalent among this ethnic group. (1) Increasing the level of awareness among oral health professionals about oral cancer and its related cultural risk factors, as well as developing better early diagnosis are of key importance in addressing morbidity [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2012-04-17T05:33:42-07:00April, 2012|Oral Cancer News|