Leukoplakia of oral cavity; study in population of Karachi

ABSTRACT

To observe the various histological types of lesions in order to evaluate the different sites involved and correlate the lesions with tobacco use. SETTING: Dental Department of Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre Karachi. METHODS: Biopsies from 75 clinically diagnosed patients were examined after staining them with haemotoxylin and Eosin, Masson Trichrome, Periodic Acid Schiff reagent, Reticulin and Grocott Gomori stains. N 38 were males and 37 were females. Maximum number of patients suffering from Leukoplakia were in their fifth and sixth decades with a slight male preponderance. Mixed habits were found in majority of the patients with buccal mucosa being the dominant site. Every white lesion of the oral cavity must be thoroughly investigated as it could result from a simple hyperplastic epithelium up to a frank carcinoma