Lesions within the oral cavity might be signs of cancer, doctors at Taipei City Hospital said recently after a case of leukoplakia was discovered by hospital staff during a community checkup in Taipei’s Yangmingshan (陽明山) area.
The 37-year-old patient had been diagnosed with leukoplakia, which are considered pre-cancerous lesions and have a 10 percent chance of turning into cancer if not treated properly, said the hospital ‘s Yangming branch dentist, Lin Hui-chun (林慧娟).
Due to the lack of pain when lesions develop, it is difficult to identify unless patients are clinically examined, Lin said, adding that most patients do not seek medical attention until they can actually feel rough patches in the oral mucosa or when the lesions begin to hurt slightly.
Usually doctors suggest a biopsy from every part of the oral cavity with a lesion to check for epithelial variation, Lin said, adding that if there are signs of variation or verrucous hyperplasia doctors would call for the removal of the entire patch of epithelium.
Lin said that the variation between the epithelium and signs of verrucous hyperplasia increase the chances of leukoplakia becoming cancerous, adding that adult patients should have an oral cavity checkup at least once every six months.
Individuals who smoke, drink, or chew betel nut should not only have routine six-month oral cavity checkups, but also pay special attention to any sort of changes to further prevent oral cancer, Lin said.
Lin said that the variant leuko erythroplakia — in which the lesions are red instead of white — indicates a higher chance of the condition becoming cancerous, adding that the redder the lesion, the higher the chance of the individual being diagnosed with oral cancer.
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