Abstract

June 2004

Section 2 Head and Neck

The cause of an oral cavity lesion can usually be identified by the history and the physical examination; however, it is most often determined definitively by either a response to a therapeutic trial or a biopsy. It is useful first to categorize the lesion as either neoplastic or nonneoplastic and then to further divide the nonneoplastic lesions into various subcategories as needed. This chapter describes clinical evaluation of such lesions (history and physical examination) and appropriate investigative studies (laboratory tests, imaging, and biopsy). Diagnosis and management of the following categories of lesions are discussed: inflammatory lesions (infectious and noninfectious), tumorlike lesions (cysts, mucoceles, and fibromas), benign neoplasms, premalignant lesions, malignant neoplasms, and infectious and neoplastic manifestations of HIV infection. A main algorithm summarizes the approach to diagnosis and management; figures illustrate the visual characteristics of these lesions; tables list possible etiologies, clinical presentations, prognostic factors, TNM classifications and stages, and carcinoma survival rates. This chapter contains 69 references.

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