Actinic Cheilitis: A Case Report and a Review of the Literature

Abstract

In actinic cheilitis, the current view is that the keratinocytes have undergone transformation forming a field of epithelium with the potential for neoplastic transformation. Clinical features include diffuse and poorly demarcated atrophic, erosive or keratotic plaques that may affect some parts of, or the entire vermilion border. Fair-complexioned people, those with albinism and people with eversion of the lip are all subject to actinic cheilitis. Prophylactic measures against all forms of sunlight-induced lesions must include limitation of exposure to the sun during peak sunlight hours, the use of appropriate protective clothing, and the use of a sunscreen cream. In this article, a case of albinism is used to illustrate the nature of actinic cheilitis, its clinical features and its treatment. (Eur J Dent 2011;5:101-106)

Dermatological and Epidemiological Profiles of Patients with Albinism in São Paulo, Brazil, between 2010 and 2017: A Cross-Sectional Study

“…The relatively high prevalence of SCC in African studies may be due to the small sample sizes; 4 of these studies had fewer than 20 patients. Most studies were also based on excisional biopsies of advanced tumors, which indirectly reveals the delayed medical care [12,40]. On average, black patients with albinism in Africa seek treatment 14-26 months after development of actinic lesions [12,17,35,36,39].…”

A comparative study using WHO and binary oral epithelial dysplasia grading systems in actinic cheilitis

“…Thus, histopathological analysis is essential to establish the final diagnosis (Nico et al, 2007). Microscopic features are also varied, but ED, which may be present in all cases (Markopoulos et al, 2004;Cavalcante et al, 2008), is the feature that confers its malignant potential (Hsue et al, 2007;Wood et al, 2011). According to ED grading proposed by the WHO system, the results of ED grading in AC in the present study revealed a prevalence of mild ED (44.8%) followed by moderate ED (32.7%) and severe ED (10.3%), similar to the study performed by Kaugars et al (1999).…”

Prevalence of and risk factors for actinic cheilitis in Brazilian fishermen and women

“…These include the inability to establish causal relationships as a result of the failure to prove the existence of a temporal sequence between factor exposure and disease development, the difficulty of distinguishing new presentations of the disease from cases that had been present for some time, and the fact that data were subject to recall bias on the part of the interviewee. [2][3][4]15 The findings of other studies conducted to date indicate that AC does not have a uniform distribution, even in Brazil 3,[8][9][10][11][15][16][17] (Table 5). These large differences in prevalences of the disease may be explained by several factors, such as the under-reporting of cases in some regions, geographical location, sample size, type of population studied, and the criteria used for disease classification.…”

“…The latter is the main environmental factor influencing the function and survival of many cell types and is considered the main etiological agent in the occurrence of malignant tumors of the skin and lip vermilion. 2 The UV light that reaches the Earth's surface primarily comprises UVA radiation with a wavelength of 320-400 nm. Ultraviolet A damages DNA indirectly by the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS), which include superoxide anion, peroxy radicals, hydroxyl radicals, and singlet oxygen.…”