Be careful if you have white spots on your tongue, beware of cancer!

Leukoplakia are white patches on the tongue mucosa. If you find white spots on your tongue one day, you must pay attention and seek timely treatment. Otherwise, if not handled properly, there will be a risk of cancer. So what is leukoplakia of the tongue?

1. What is leukoplakia of the tongue?

Leukoplakia of the tongue is a white patch on the tongue mucosa, which can be divided into benign white keratosis and leukoplakia of premalignant lesions according to its tendency to malignant transformation. Leukoplakia on the tongue often occurs on the dorsum, ventral part or edge of the tongue. The white spots have clear boundaries and are slightly higher than the mucosal surface. The color is milky white, grayish white or yellowish white. The white spots on the ventral side of the tongue may be rough or have granular hyperplasia, or appear as wart-like protrusions, or be eroded. There may also be areas of redness interspersed among the white spots.

2. What is the cause of leukoplakia on the tongue? What are the pathological changes of leukoplakia on the tongue?

The cause of occurrence is: white keratosis is mostly caused by external factors, which are mainly local structural, chemical, physical and inflammatory changes. Premalignant leukoplakia is mostly caused by internal individual qualities. The internal individual qualities are different for each person. Under the same conditions, some people are prone to cancer. This internal quality is related to genetics, immunosuppression, low immune function and nutritional deficiency such as vitamin A and E.

1. Simple epithelial hyperplasia is excessive keratinization or incomplete keratinization of the surface epithelium. The granular layer is obvious, the spinous layer cells are hyperplastic, and the epithelial spikes are large. There are different numbers of inflammatory cells infiltrating in the connective tissue. There is no tendency to malignancy. After the irritating factors are removed, the white spots gradually become thinner and disappear. Homogeneous leukoplakia belongs to this type of pathological change.

2. Epithelial dysplasia is a high degree of epithelial proliferation, with abnormal keratinization of epithelial cells and atypical cell proliferation and even malignant transformation, such as changes in the polarity of basal cells. The epithelium is irregularly stratified and disorderly arranged, with increased nuclear division, increased nuclear chromatin, dark nuclear staining, and large nucleoli. Abnormally proliferative epithelium that is limited to an intact basement membrane within the epithelium can be considered carcinoma in situ, while those in which the basement membrane has been breached become early invasive cancer. Verrucous, granular and erosive types all have a tendency to become malignant, and special attention should be paid to follow-up observation.

3. Clinical manifestations of leukoplakia

1. Homogeneous type: The lesions are white patches, slightly higher than the mucosal surface, with a slightly rough surface and a wrinkled paper-like appearance. There are no subjective symptoms, or there is a feeling of astringency.

2. Verrucous hyperplasia type: white patches, thick and raised, with wart-like protrusions on the surface, hard and rough in texture.

3. Granular type: There are small white granular keratotic changes that are higher than the mucosa and resemble villi on the red mucosal surface.

4. Erosive type: There is erosion on the white patches and ulcers may form. There is obvious pain.