Aj. Dickenson et al., SCREENING FOR SYPHILIS IN PATIENTS WITH CARCINOMA OF THE TONGUE, British journal of oral & maxillofacial surgery, 33(5), 1995, pp. 319-320
The oral signs of syphilis have been comprehensively described and can
be identified at each stage of the infection, Despite the historical
recognition that inadequately treated or untreated syphilitic leukopla
kia may undergo malignant transformation, many surgical units no longe
r routinely screen patients presenting with malignant or premalignant
lesions, In this study, fie of the 63 patients (8%) who presented with
neoplasms of the tongue reacted to syphilis antibodies, These results
indicate that syphilis is still prevalent in this group of patients a
nd suggest that serological investigations may be warranted in the ini
tial assessment of all patients with oral cancer.