Observations on the clinical characteristics of oral lesions showing histologic epithelial dysplasia

There have been few published studies concerned with the clinical behavior and natural history of oral dyskeratotic lesions. In the present investigation, fifty-six patients with sixty-seven oral lesions biopsied and diagnosed as showing moderate or marked epithelial dysplasia were studied with regard to age at which original lesion occurred, use of tobacco, site of lesion, and sex of the patient. Follow-up study of forty-five of these patients for periods of 1 to 8 years showed that these lesions may be cured surgically, may recur after removal, may increase in size or severity, may regress or disappear without surgical treatment, may remain static, or may undergo malignant transformation.