Actinic cheilitis - A review of 152 cases

Objective. The purpose of this study was to determine whether any clinical or histopathologic variables are associated with the severity of epithelial change in lesions of actinic cheilitis. Study design. A total of 152 acceptable cases of actinic cheilitis were ide ntified from 66,067 cases accessioned from February 1989 to June 1998. For each case, the clinical information supplied by the submitting practitioner at the time of the biopsy and 8 histopathologic variables were evaluated. Results, The following 5 histopathologic variables were positively correlat ed with an increased degree of epithelial change: acanthosis, basophilic ch ange within the connective tissue, the presence of inflammation within the connective tissue, perivascular inflammation, and thickness of the keratin layer. None of the clinical variables was associated with an increased degr ee of epithelial change. Conclusions. The presence of any of the aforementioned histopathologic chan ges should prompt a close evaluation of the lesion for the presence of eith er epithelial dysplasia or carcinoma.