白斑或白色损害一般地被认为是最常见的口腔“癌前”损害,也曾设想早期癌常是白色损害。作者的研究指出,初期的白色损害成为浸润癌或原位癌者不超过2%,并援引其他学者的资料以证明白斑的恶变率是低的。如Einhorn和Pindborg氏资料表明4%白斑是经过相当长时期以后才发展成为癌。印度的研究资料表明11610例白斑中仅0.13%在两年之内变恶性。相反,作者发现无症状的红斑性损害却是早期无症状口腔癌的最常见征候。这种情况97%发现于口底、舌腹 Leukoplakia or white lesions are generally considered to be the most common oral “pre-cancerous” lesions, and it has been assumed that early stage cancers are often white lesions. The authors’ study indicated that the initial white lesions were no more than 2% of invasive or in situ cancer, and cited data from other scholars to prove that the rate of malignancy of leukoplakia was low. Data from Einhorn and Pindborg indicate that 4% of white spots have developed into cancer after a long period of time. Research data from India show that only 0.13% of 11610 cases of leukoplakia became malignant within two years. In contrast, the authors found that asymptomatic erythematous lesions are the most common symptoms of early asymptomatic oral cancer. 97% of this situation was found at the bottom of the mouth and tongue