La Leucoplachia del cavo orale : un caso clinico

The leukoplakia of the oral cavity: a case report The present study concerns the execution of a clinical case in which a punch biopsy was performed on a white lesion of the oral cavity. The goal is to detect outwardly innocuouses lesions that hide a malignant pathology utilizing Mashberg method which is easy to apply, standardized and allows to make an easier diagnosis. In this case report, a middle-aged patient shows a white lesion placed in the attached gingiva of the partial edentolous mandibular ridge. Although the lesion had regular borders it was decided to perform an incisional biopsy, according to Mashberg technique, to avoid any risk of a possible malignant disease. Mashberg technique is characterized by the execution of several rinses with an acetic acid solution (buffered 0.5% and 1%) and by the toluidine blue staining, a vital dye used for its capacity to bind to DNA and RNA. This colouring characteristic allows to carry out the biopsy in the oral area with the major risk of malignant degeneration in order to reduce false negatives percentage. The results obtained by the histological examination confirm the expectations that come from the oral examination. In conclusion this clinical technique has proved to be simple and usefull, furthermore it seems a valid aid to make a differential diagnosis and an early detection of a potential malignant lesion.