Malignant transformation of oral leukoplakia: a multicentric retrospective study in Brazilian population

• João Mateus Mendes Cerqueira ^[1] ; Flávia Sirotheau Corrêa Pontes ^[1] ; Alan Roger Santos-Silva ^[3] ; Oslei Paes de Almeida ^[3] ; Rafael Ferreira e Costa ^[2] ; Felipe Paiva Fonseca ^[2] ; Ricardo Santiago Gomez ^[2] ; Nicolau Conte Neto ^[1] ; Ligia Akiko Ninokata Miyahara ^[1] ; Carla Isabelly Rodrigues-Fernandes ^[3] ; Elieser de Melo Galvão Neto ^[1] ; Anna Luíza Damaceno Araújo ^[3] ; Márcio Ajudarte Lopes ^[3] ; Hélder Antônio Rebelo Pontes ^[1]
  1. [1] Universidad Federal de Pará

     Universidad Federal de Pará

     Brasil

     
  2. [2] Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais

     Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais

     Brasil

     
  3. [3] Oral Diagnosis Department (Pathology and Semiology), Piracicaba Dental School, University of Campinas, Piracicaba, Brazil

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• Localización: Medicina oral, patología oral y cirugía bucal. Ed. inglesa, ISSN-e 1698-6946, Vol. 26, Nº. 3, 2021
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • Among the oral potentially malignant disorders, leukoplakia stands out as the most prevalent. The purpose of this study was to analyse the clinical-pathological features of oral leukoplakia in groups of patients from three major pathology centers in two different regions of Brazil, in order to determine which factors would be associated to the clinical risk of malignant transformation.

    A total of 148 patients was analyzed, and data regarding gender, age, site, classification of the clinical subtype, harmful habits such as use of tobacco and alcohol, time of evolution and presence of dysplasia were collected. The association between risk factors and malignant transformation was investigated using the chi-square test and Fischer's exact test for correlation of variables. A significance level of 5% (p≤0.05) was used.

    The mean age of the patients was 60 years, and 56% were female. Most of the lesions (34,5%) were located in the lateral and ventral regions of the tongue. Of the 148 patients, ninety had clinical follow-up. Malignant transformation occurred in 13 patients (8.8%), with an average of 44 months of follow up.

    Non-smoker, nonhomogeneous clinical presentation, location at the tongue, and the presence of high degree of dysplasia were statistically relevant factors associated with a higher risk of transformation transformation.