[Oral cancer: Risk factors and management]

Oral cavity is the most frequent anatomical subsite of upper aero-digestive tract malignancies. Squamous cell carcinoma is the most common histological type and totalizes more than 95% of oral cancer. Main risk factors are tobacco and alcohol exposure and also potentially malignant lesions. These precancerous lesions are a chronic disease of oral mucosa and are responsible for about 20% of oral cancer. The treatment of oral cancer depends on clinical, radiological and endoscopic staging and according to the multidisciplinary tumor board decision. Indeed, tumor staging gives information about loco-regional and metastatic spread. Treatment can include surgery, radiation therapy and chemotherapy. However, the prognostic mainly depends on tumor resectability and patient comorbidities. Tumor removal is often associated with reconstruction procedures in order to restore phonation, swallowing and breathing functions with acceptable aesthetic outcomes. The usual delayed diagnosis explains the poor prognostic of oral cancer in spite of prevention attempt and therapeutic improvement. Indeed, the profile of tobacco and alcoholic patients outside of medical system, the high rate of recurrence and the frequency of second primary malignancies explain the stable incidence for years.

Oral and vulvo-vaginal lichenoid reactions due to mitotane (Lysodren): A case report

BACKGROUND

The purpose of pharmacovigilance (drug safety) is collection, detection, assessment, monitoring, and prevention of adverse effects with pharmaceutical products. It is meant to identify, characterize, prevent, or minimize actual or potential risks relating to medicinal products. To prevent these adverse effects and improve our practice, health professionals have a duty to report side effects to assess this risk and evaluate the benefit/risk requirements. Mitotane (Lysodren) is used for treating adrenocortical carcinoma. Currently, no side effects concerning oral and genital mucosa have been reported.

CASE SUMMARY

This case report is about a 50 years old woman. Six months after the initiation on mitotane treatment, she developed erosive lesions located on the oral and vaginal mucosa. These drug reactions were diagnosed as erosive lichen planus by the biopsy. This lichenoid lesions were resistant to the usual treatments, mitotane being at the time not replaceable.

CONCLUSION

This case describes an unreported adverse effect of mitotane, it is - to our knowledge - the 1st description of erosive lichenoid drug reaction due to Mitotane.

[Dynamic concept of oral lichen planus. The diagnosis easy at early stages may become difficult in ancient lichen planus]

Dynamic concept of oral lichen planus. The diagnosis easy at early stages may become difficult in ancient lichen planus. Lichen planus is a chronic inflammatory dermatosis of the skin, skin appendages and mucous membranes, which frequently affects the oral mucosa. Its aetiology still remains unknown, and currently accepted pathogenesis is that of an autoimmune cell-mediated disease. To the contrary of skin lichen planus, oral lichen planus is a long-term chronic disease with dynamic evolution, in which progressive and profound changes of the clinical and histopathological aspects occur over time and under the influence of various exogenous factors. By convention, in the history of the oral lichen planus four successive stages can be distinguished without well-defined boundaries between them. These stages can be defined as an initial phase; a long intermediate phase with alternating periods of activity and quiescence, which has a gradually increasing risk of malignant transformation; a late stage which activity is traditionally diminished; and a post-lichen cicatricial stage with an absent or negligible and undetectable activity, often undiagnosed because clinically unrecognized; in this stage, the lesion does not respond to usual treatments, but retains the same risk of malignant transformation.