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Two hundred fifty‐seven patients with oral leukoplakia were studied and followed for an average period of 7.2 years. All lesions were more than one cm in size and had been present and observed for a minimum of 6 months. Of the initial biopsies, 235 revealed a benign hyperkeratosis and 22 others contained some degree of epithelial dysplasia. Seventy‐three percent of the patients used tobacco, with cigarette usage being the predominant form. Forty‐five patients (17.5%) subsequently developed squamous carcinomas in the hyperkeratotic epithelial site in an average time of 8.1 years. Eight of these malignant transformations came from patients who originally had epithelial dysplasia. High risks for malignant transformation also included non‐smoking patients, the clinical presence of erythroplasia (erythroleukoplakia), and a clinical verrucous‐papillary hyperkeratotic pattern. Duration of the leukoplakia progressively increased the total number of malignant transformations, with the largest rate occurring in the second year. This study confirms that oral leukoplakia is a precancerous lesion and that certain characteristics indicate greater risks and warrant consideration of more aggressive management.

Oral submucous fibrosis (OSF) is a chronic, insidious disease caused by areca nut use, and is associated with both significant morbidity (including pain and reduced oral opening) and an increased risk for malignancy. This systematic review explored and updated the current medical (i.e., non-surgical) interventions available for the management of OSF. Of the 27 published medical interventions, there were four randomized controlled trials. The overall quality of these randomized controlled studies was assessed using the GRADE approach and significant limitations that challenged the conclusions were found. However, this review was valuable in terms of identifying opportunities to provide recommendations for future research, in terms of the populations to research, the types of interventions needed, the types of outcomes to be measured, the study designs needed, and the infrastructure required to conduct studies. The next step is to initiate a pathway for a low-cost research plan leading to the development of a brief protocol for future clinical trials in this field, with an emphasis on conducting studies in regions of the world where OSF is prevalent.

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