CLINICAL AND HISTOPATHOLOGIC FEATURES OF WHITE LESIONS OF THE ORAL MUCOSA

Purpose: the aim of the present study was to evaluate the clinical and histopathologic aspects of white lesions. material and methods: in the study, biopsies sent for histopathological diagnosis to istanbul university oncology institute, department of tumor pathology between the beginning of year 2008 and the end of march 2011 were analyzed. 145 patients with white lesions were evaluated according to gender, age, localization, clinical diagnosis and histopathological diagnosis. results: 63% of the patients included in our study were female, and 37% were male. according to our findings, the white lesions of the oral mucosa were found most frequently between the ages 50-59 and the most frequent localization of the lesions was the buccal mucosa. oral lichen planus, which was found in 51% of our cases, was the most common white lesion of the oral mucosa. the second most common white lesion was hyperkeratosis, which was observed in 41,1% of the patients. on the other hand, white spongy nevus is very uncommon; only 2 patients in our study were diagnosed with this entity. conclusion: a high percentage of white lesions of the oral mucosa can be clinically diagnosed. however, there are a few clinically misdiagnosed lesions. biopsy should be performed for the proper treatment of these premalignant lesions, and if necessary, additional methods should be used for diagnosis.