A study gathered more than 11 biopsies to analyze key pathologies that could develop into oral cancer.

A team from the Chair of Pathological Anatomy and Physiology of the Faculty of Dentistry of the Universidad Nacional de Rosario The research team is conducting an investigation to determine the prevalence of so-called "potentially malignant oral disorders," inflammatory conditions that can develop into cancer over time. To this end, they analyzed more than 11.500 biopsies performed between 1954 and 2023.

The study is part of a growing movement in various dental schools across the country, aimed at deepening the understanding of these lesions. “Unlike what were traditionally known as precancerous lesions, the World Health Organization updated the terminology and defined them as potentially malignant disorders, a designation that acknowledges that not all of them develop into cancer, but they do present that possibility,” explained researcher Gustavo Merletti.

“We decided to analyze all the biopsies in our archive, from 1954 to 2023, to determine the frequency and characteristics of these pathologies, their relationship with age, sex and epithelial alterations that may indicate an unfavorable evolution,” added Dr. Mariel Guenzelovich.

Three pathologies in focus

Among the more than eleven thousand samples, the team identified 728 biopsies corresponding to three pathologies of particular interest: leukoplakia, oral lichen planus, and actinic cheilitis. “These are inflammatory lesions of the oral cavity that can present, at a microscopic level, cellular alterations associated with the development of malignant tumors,” Guenzelovich explained.

Leukoplakia usually manifests predominantly as a white patch on the oral mucosa; oral lichen planus, as whitish and/or reddish lesions with varied characteristics; and actinic cheilitis, an inflammation that causes pallor, ulcerations, and loss of pigmentation.