8 year study on 346 patients by Pires et al showed that oral squamous cell carcinoma is twice as common in males than in females.13 Precancerous and cancerous lesions, hairy tongue, frictional keratosis and
leukoedema are usually seen more in males than females as the risk factors for them is tobacco smoking mainly, especially in Saudi community as they are very conservative and females don't get a chance to adapt to this habit frequently.14,15
Oral manifestations of GVHD may occur in 3080% of the cases (Garcia; Molina; Gonzalez, 2006), and can be classified as (a) mild, when the oral mucosa presents
leukoedema, white streaks, burning sensation of the mouth and xerostomia; (b) moderate, with the mucosa showing maculopapular rash, microstomia, painful ulcerations and mucoceles, and (c) severe, with bullous lesions (Chao, 1998).
Frequency of oral carcinoma, leukoplakia, leokokeratosis,
leukoedema, submocous fibrosis and lichen planus in 10, 000 Indians in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India; preliminary report.
Clinically, the earliest sign maybe characterized by
leukoedema, appearing as a diffuse, poorly defined area of milky-white opalescence most noticeable on the buccal mucosa, which will disappear upon stretching [14].
Leukoedema - an epidemiologic study with special reference to the influence of tobacco habits.