Oral leukoplakia and erythroplakia in young patients: a systematic review

Objective: The aim of this study was to estimate the frequency of oral leukoplakia and oral erythroplakia in young patients.

Study design: The systematic review was based on the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) guidelines and performed in the following electronic databases: PubMed, Scopus, and Embase. The studies included were cross-sectional, cohort, and diagnostic, which provided with clinical and microscopic data of patients younger than 40 years. The Critical Appraisal Checklist for Prevalence Studies from the Joanna Briggs Institute and the Quality Assessment Tool for Diagnostic Accuracy Studies were used to assess the risk of bias.

Results: Five studies met eligibility criteria and were included. The total number of patients from the studies was 1246, of which 115 were young patients (9.2%) with oral leukoplakia as the only oral potentially malignant disorder reported. Oral epithelial dysplasia was identified in 40 cases (34.7%), of which 8 (6.9%) presented malignant transformation.

Conclusions: The frequency of oral leukoplakia is low in young patients. Observational studies are necessary for understanding oral leukoplakia and other oral potentially malignant disorders in younger patients.