Leukoplakia and intraoral malignancies: female cases increase in Greece

In the developed world, intraoral malignancies are more frequent in males than females. Recent observations from Greece suggest that the number of females is increasing.

The present study investigates gender and age statistics among subjects with cancers of the mouth or leukoplakia.

Five hundred and twelve subjects of Greek origin participated in this analysis. Chi-square and logistic regression statistics were used to compare if there are differences in participants' gender and age, stratified by histological type.

Epithelial cancers and leukoplakia exhibited equal distributions among men and women. Men were diagnosed at a much younger age than women. Our data also indicates a progression in the process of epithelial cancer development, as benign leukoplakia was diagnosed 2-4 years earlier than epithelial dysplasia and 8 years earlier than squamous cell carcinoma (SSC). The same age difference was observed in non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, although the male to female ratio was 3:1. In regards to anatomy, 47% of SSC appeared in the tongue. The most prevalent site for the development of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma was the gingival (50%), followed by the palate (40%).

Although oral cancer occurs earlier in men than women, the risk of females tends to be similar to that of males.