Oral submucous fibrosis in a Greek female

Submucous fibrosis of the oral cavity is a disease affecting almost exclusively the Indian race, although sporadic cases have been described in non-Indians. Its aetiology is unknown and dietary factors have been incriminated in its pathogenesis, such as chilli ingestion. In this paper we present a case of oral submucous fibrosis in a 67-year-old Greek female, who two years after initial diagnosis developed squamous cell carcinoma of the tongue. The clinical course and histological findings are described and the potential of this disease as a predisposing factor for the development of malignancies of the oral mucosa is discussed.