A Study of mass screening for oral cancer and oral mucosal lesions of adults

An epidemiological study of oral leukoplakia

Abstract

The purpose of this study was 1) to show the epidemiological status of oral leukoplakia in a selected population of 3, 131 Japanese (504 women, 2, 627 men, ranging from 18 to 63 and mean age of 35. 9 years old), and also 2) to estimate the validity of the diagnosis of oral leukoplakia by general practitioners.
1) Seventy seven individuals were detected as having leukoplakia with the prevalence rate of 2.; 2. 7% and 1.0% for men and women, respectively. The difference was statistically significant (P<0.001).
2) The percentage of smokers was 75. 3% for patients with leukoplakia and 47.8% for individuals detected as normal with a statistically significant difference between them (P<0.001). The age-adjusted relative risk (Mantel-Haenszel odds ratio) for smokers who developed leukoplakia as compared with non-smokers in men was 3.74 with 95% confidence interval (2.14-6.55).
3) Of 77 leukoplakia patients, 37 cases (48. 1%) received d. clinically confirmed diagnosis and 27 patients diagnosed by additional examinations as having leukoplakia. The low percentage of those who received additional examinations can be attributed to generally poor knowledge of oral precancerous lesions in Japan.