Erythroplakia - Images, Symptoms, Causes, Cancer Risk, Treatment
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What is Erythroplakia?
Types of Erythroplakia
- Homogenous erythroplakia
- Erythroplakia inter spread with patches of leukoplakia
- Granular or speckles leukoplakia
Disease Progression of Erythroplakia
Erythroplakia is generally considered a precancerous condition. The rate of transformation of erythroplakia into cancer is 14 to 50 per cent. Compared to leukoplakia (white oral lesions), erythroplakia has a significantly higher risk of developing oral cancer.Erythroplakia Symptoms
- If the lesion occurs on the vocal cords, then it may cause the voice to change, which is easily noticeable.
- Hoarseness of voice
Erythroplakia Causes
- Chewing tobacco
- The dentures that do not fit properly in the mouth and rub the gum against other tissues may cause the erythroplakia lesion.
- Heavy smoking
- Excessive intake of alcohol
Erythroplakia Risk Factors
- Age: Erythroplakia can occur to a person of any age, but it is more caused to persons of middle age and older people.
- Gender: Recently, it has been found that erythroplakia occurs more often in men. In a recent study conducted on about 58 persons, it has been found that it occurs in both males and females.
- Smoking: Smoking increases the chances of erythroplakia.
Prevention of Erythroplakia
- Avoid drinking alcohol, chewing tobacco, and smoking
- Practising good oral hygiene
- Routine dental checkups (especially for those at increased risk of erythroplakia)
- Avoid wearing poorly fitted dentures
Erythroplakia Diagnosis
- Rinsing: The patient is asked to rinse the mouth for 20 seconds using water. After this, the patient is asked to rinse the mouth again using a 1% acetic acid solution.
- Drying of area: The mucosal areas are then dried using gauze. It is taken care that the gauze does not irritate the mucosal cavity.
- Application of toluidine blue solution: 1% toluidine solution is applied to the mucosa using a cotton swab.
- Rinsing: The patient is asked to rinse their mouth using a 1% acetic acid solution followed by a rinse with sterilised water. The dark blue staining in the oral cavity may indicate erythroplakia.
Erythroplakia Treatment
Erythroplakia Treatment without Surgery
- If the lesions of oral erythroplakia are not causing any symptoms, there is no need for treatment. However, the patient should regularly visit the doctor to evaluate the progression of the disease.
- When the erythrocyte is identified, the doctor will first recommend a biopsy of the present lesions. The biopsy is essential to find out whether the lesion is cancerous or not. It helps the doctor in starting the treatment accordingly.
- If the doctor suspects that the lesion is due to alcohol or tobacco during diagnosis, they may ask the patient to quit those things.
Erythroplakia Treatment with Surgery
The most recommended treatment for the cancerous lesion is the excision of the lesions, along with severe follow-up examinations. These follow-up examinations must show no recurrence of erythroplakia. Follow-up examinations are more important in the case of excision surgery because the chances of recurrence are very high. Depending upon the level of the oral infection, the following types of treatment have been recommended for treating oral erythroplakia:- Laser surgery: The continuous focus of the laser beam on the cells results in more absorption; hence, cells become overheated by the heat energy and eventually get destroyed.
- Cryosurgery: In this process, a freezing liquid like liquid nitrogen or argon is focused on the site where the cancerous cells are present. Prolonged exposure to these gases will cause the cells to shrink, eventually destroying the cancerous cells.
Risks and Complications of Erythroplakia
- Abnormality in the tongue
- Changes in the oral health
- Occurrence of lesions on oral mucosa
- Progression to cancer
When to consult a doctor for Erythroplakia?
It is essential to consult a doctor if the person experiences any visible changes in the oral mucosal layer, such as:- Oral growth (lesion) which does not go away in 1 or 2 weeks
- Warning signs in biopsy (the treatment should be started immediately).
Updated on : 31 October 2022
Reviewer
Dr. Aman Priya Khanna
MBBS, DNB General Surgery, Fellowship in Minimal Access Surgery, FIAGES
12 Years Experience
Dr Aman Priya Khanna is a well-known General Surgeon, Proctologist and Bariatric Surgeon currently associated with HealthFort Clinic, Health First Multispecialty Clinic in Delhi. He has 12 years of experience in General Surgery and worke...View More
Author
Sparshi Srivastava
B.Tech Biotechnology (Bansal Institute of Engineering and Technology, Lucknow)
2 Years Experience
An ardent reader, graduated in B.Tech Biotechnology. She was previously associated with medical sciences secondary research and writing. With a keen interest and curiosity-driven approach, she has been able to cont...View More
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