Oral potentially malignant disorders

Worldwide oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is one of the most frequent malignancies, with a mortality rate of 1.9 deaths per 100,000 per year. Most cases of OSCC are preceded by clinical lesions referred to as oral potentially malignant disorders (OPMDs). The World Health Organization defines OPMDs as “clinical presentations that carry a risk of cancer development in the oral cavity, whether in a clinically definable precursor lesion or in clinically normal oral mucosa”. These disorders include leukoplakia, erythroplakia, erythroleukoplakia, oral submucous fibrosis, palatal lesion of reverse cigar smoking and oral lichen planus. In this review we discuss the clinical, pathologic and molecular features of OPMDs.