Oral cancers are malignancies that have high metastasis potential and thus survival rate of the patients is low. Today, epidemiological studies are being widely conducted on precancerous lesions, defined as predecessor lesions. In order to investigate the prevalence of oral precancerous lesions among Turkish people, 2000 consecutive outpatients who referred to our clinic for routine dental treatment, were examined. The proportion of lesions with potential to transform into cancer was 4.0%. It was concluded that leukoplakia and lichen planus were the most commonly observed precancerous lesions. All lesions had male propensity and the most affected site was the buccal mucosa. Smoking, in particular, was found to play an important role in the development of precancerous lesions. The findings of this study provide information about the prevalence of lesions that have potential to transform into oral cancer in a selected Turkish population.

Oral cancers are malignancies that have high metastasis potential and thus survival rate of the patients is low. Today, epidemiological studies are being widely conducted on precancerous lesions, defined as predecessor lesions. In order to investigate the prevalence of oral precancerous lesions among Turkish people, 2000 consecutive outpatients who referred to our clinic for routine dental treatment, were examined. The proportion of lesions with potential to transform into cancer was 4.0%. It was concluded that leukoplakia and lichen planus were the most commonly observed precancerous lesions. All lesions had male propensity and the most affected site was the buccal mucosa. Smoking, in particular, was found to play an important role in the development of precancerous lesions. The findings of this study provide information about the prevalence of lesions that have potential to transform into oral cancer in a selected Turkish population.