Malignant-transformation-free survival in Oral Potentially Malignant Disorders in the State of Espírito Santo, Brazil.

OBJECTIVE: to evaluate malignant-transformation-free survival (MTFS) in patients with oral potentially malignant disorders (OPMDs). MATERIAL AND METHODS: A 11-year long retrospective cohort study was conducted at a public Oral Pathology Service and patients diagnosed either with oral lichen planus, oral lichenoid lesion, oral leukoplakia (OL), proliferative verrucous leukoplakia (PVL), or erythroplakia were included. Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma diagnosis was assessed through cross-referencing patient records with the State Health Department Cancer Registry. Kaplan-Meier curves were used to evaluate malignant-transformation-free survival. RESULTS: A total of 197 OPMDs were included, malignant transformation occurred in 11 (5.6%) cases, with PVL showing the highest rate (n=6, 54.5%). OL was the most frequent diagnosis (n=95, 48.2%) and most OPMD cases with malignant transformation showed epithelial dysplasia at baseline. MTFS rates were 98.5% (1 year), 97.5% (3 years), and 95.9% (5 years). CONCLUSIONS: Continuous monitoring of OPMD patients is crucial for early detection of malignization, but MTFS was high for OPMDs.