What can leukoplakia be mistaken for?
Hairy leukoplakia causes fuzzy, white patches that resemble folds or ridges, usually on the sides of your tongue. It’s often mistaken for oral thrush, an infection marked by creamy white patches that can be wiped away, which is also common in people with a weakened immune system.
How long does it take for leukoplakia to turn cancerous?
Leukoplakia is different from other causes of white patches such as thrush or lichen planus because it can eventually develop into oral cancer. Within 15 years, about 3% to 17.5% of people with leukoplakia will develop squamous cell carcinoma, a common type of skin cancer.
What aggravates leukoplakia?
Long-term use of tobacco (smoking or chewing) or other irritants are the most common cause of leukoplakia, other causes may include: Dentures that do not fit correctly (or broken dentures) An injury that occurs on the inside of the cheek (such as from accidentally biting the cheek)
Can you wipe off leukoplakia?
Leukoplakia is often confused with oral thrush, which is a yeast infection of the mouth. But, unlike the patches created by thrush, the leukoplakia ones can’t be wiped away. Your doctor will perform an oral exam to diagnose leukoplakia. They may require additional tests or even a biopsy if the patches look suspicious.
Can leukoplakia be misdiagnosed?
Clinicians often wrongly diagnose such lesions as oral leukoplakias and treat simply. Lesions recur and turn malignant. Proliferative verrucous leukoplakia (PVL) is a distinct form of oral leukoplakia characterized by a high recurrence rate and high rate of transformation into oral squamous cell carcinoma.
How do you know if leukoplakia is cancerous?
A biopsy is the only way to know for certain if an area of leukoplakia or erythroplakia has dysplastic (pre-cancer) cells or cancer cells.
Is leukoplakia fast growing?
PVL is usually chronic and progressive, and a patient often has a long history of leukoplakia before he/she attends a clinic [8,10]. Most cases progress for 20-25 years. In contrast to most slow-growing PVL, the case described here became cancerous quite rapidly.