Lip lesions in a Brazilian population

The lips represent one of the most important parts of the facial complex because of a large number and variety of injuries that may be related to this anatomic site such as inflammatory processes and benign and malignant tumors. The aim of this study was to describe the pathologic features of the lip lesions seen in a Brazilian outpatient service.

Data from 6231 samples of oral biopsies were retrieved from the files of 5 anatomic pathology services in Fortaleza, Brazil. After data have been collected, the lesions were separated in 3 groups: G1 (nonmalignant dysplastic lesions/malignant tumors), G2 (benign neoplasms), and G3 (reactive/inflammatory lesions).

Analysis of the specimens for which an oral biopsy was performed yielded 1034 cases (16.6%) diagnosed on lip during the study period. From this total, 514 cases were in females and 520 were in males. Ages ranged from 2 to 96 years, with a global average of 40.1 years. The peak incidence of lip lesions in this study occurred in the fifth decade of life. The most common lesion in each group was squamous cell carcinoma (G1), hemangioma (G2), and mucocele (G3). Lower lip was the most affected region (65.9%).

The largest number of cases represented nonmalignant conditions, which occurred mostly in the lower lip. In addition, malignancies increased significantly with the increase in age. Further studies are necessary for a better worldwide epidemiologic understanding about lip diseases.