I have leukoplakia. I am using medicines I want to know that can leukoplakia cause cancer.
Because it is spreading in my mouth.

Question

There are many causes of white or white and red patches in mouth. Most common are cheekbites which are seen as horizontal lines in the middle of the cheek. Wisdom teeth can cause thickened white patch on the posterior part of the cheek. Candidiasis is common cause of white patch especially in those using steroid inhaler for asthma. Oral lichen planus a premalignant condition, gives rise to wickham’s striae which appear as white patches, but can also have reddish patches in erosive type. Submucous fibrosis is another premalignant condition which causes marbling or whitening of the whole mucosa and leads to decreased mouth opening as it progresses. Supari and tobacco consumption are the most common causes. Leukoplakia is white patch which cannot be attributed to any of the above causes. It is usually due to tobacco, supari or alcohol consumption. Most of the leukoplakias can be observed. They are innocuous and usually reversible if on the areas where most of the wear and tear occurs, like dorsum of tongue and buccal mucosa. But may need excision if on floor of mouth or palate, especially if speckled (with red spots in between), thickened nodular or verrucous leukoplakia as the chances of cancer in there is more than in the homogeneous ones. The cancerous transformation rate varies from 1-10% over 10 years. With about 40-45%% regressing and 40-45%% remaining stable. Erythroplakia is a red patch and usually a Surgical or laser excision is recommended for it as the chances of it harbouring malignancy are as high as 90%. If you want to discuss this further, feel free to contact me directly.

Nikhilesh Borkar · Accepted Answer

There are many causes of white or white and red patches in mouth. Most common are cheekbites which are seen as horizontal lines in the middle of the cheek. Wisdom teeth can cause thickened white patch on the posterior part of the cheek. Candidiasis is common cause of white patch especially in those using steroid inhaler for asthma. Oral lichen planus a premalignant condition, gives rise to wickham’s striae which appear as white patches, but can also have reddish patches in erosive type. Submucous fibrosis is another premalignant condition which causes marbling or whitening of the whole mucosa and leads to decreased mouth opening as it progresses. Supari and tobacco consumption are the most common causes. Leukoplakia is white patch which cannot be attributed to any of the above causes. It is usually due to tobacco, supari or alcohol consumption. Most of the leukoplakias can be observed. They are innocuous and usually reversible if on the areas where most of the wear and tear occurs, like dorsum of tongue and buccal mucosa. But may need excision if on floor of mouth or palate, especially if speckled (with red spots in between), thickened nodular or verrucous leukoplakia as the chances of cancer in there is more than in the homogeneous ones. The cancerous transformation rate varies from 1-10% over 10 years. With about 40-45%% regressing and 40-45%% remaining stable. Erythroplakia is a red patch and usually a Surgical or laser excision is recommended for it as the chances of it harbouring malignancy are as high as 90%. If you want to discuss this further, feel free to contact me directly.

I have leukoplakia. I am using medicines I want to know that can leukoplakia cause cancer. Because it is spreading in my mouth.