Precancerous lesions are certain lesions that continue to develop with the potential to become cancerous. Today we summarize all the common precancerous lesions throughout the body.
Leukoplakia of the oral mucosa
Oral mucosal leukoplakia refers to the white-dominated plaque that occurs on the oral mucosa, which cannot be erased, and its cause is unknown, and is related to smoking, drinking, chewing betel nut and other local stimuli. Leukoplakia of the oral mucosa is one of the precancerous lesions, and a small number of people may develop oral cancer.
Junction nevi
A junction nevus is a pigmented cutaneous nevi that lies between a malignant and benign tumor and can be diagnosed early and can be performed radical surgery. Some patients with junction nevi may progress to cancer, becoming basal cell carcinoma or melanoma, especially in areas susceptible to friction.
Barret's esophagus
The squamous epithelium of the lower segment of the esophagus is covered by a columnar epithelium, known as barrett's esophagus, which is currently thought to be associated with esophageal reflux. Barrett's esophagus is a precancerous lesion that occurs 40 times more often than in normal populations. In 10% to 40% of patients with esophageal cancer, barrett's esophagus is present.
Atypical proliferation of lung epithelial cells
Atypical hyperplasia of the squamous epithelium of the lungs has been considered a pre-lesion of squamous cell carcinoma, while the pre-lesion of lung adenocarcinoma is atypical adenomatous hyperplasia (AAH). Many long-standing pure ground glass nodules, after surgery, are pathologically adenomatous, which is actually a precancerous lesion.
Chronic atrophic gastritis
Most gastric cancers occur according to the following rules: non-atrophic gastritis atrophic gastritis intestinal metaplasia intraepithelial tumor carcinoma. In fact, only a very small proportion of atrophic gastritis may develop stomach cancer, about 1% on the mainland, and 10% in Western countries. Patients with moderate to severe atrophic gastritis with moderate to severe intestinalization or atypical hyperplasia are at greatly increased risk of developing stomach cancer.
Gallbladder adenomatous polyps
Gallbladder polyps include cholesterol polyps, adenomatous polyps, inflammatory polyps, etc., and most gallbladder polyps are cholesterol polyps. Gallbladder adenomatous polyps are potential precancerous lesions associated with the occurrence of gallbladder cancer, with a cancerous rate of about 8%. The larger its diameter, the higher the risk of cancer.
Intestinal adenomatous polyps
Intestinal polyps are very common and include inflammatory polyps, proliferative polyps, adenomatous polyps, and juvenile polyps. Adenomatous polyps are considered to be a precancerous lesion and can be divided into three types, namely tubular adenomas, villous adenomas, and mixed adenomas, of which tubular adenomas are the most common. The development from adenomatous polyps to colon cancer is on average about 5 to 10 years.
Studies have shown that the cancer rate of villous adenoma is about 50%, the cancer rate of mixed adenoma is about 10%-30%, and the cancer rate of tubular adenoma is about 1%-5%. The cancer rate of multiple polyps increases, and polyps with larger volumes and broad bases and broad stems are highly likely to become cancerous.
Cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN)
Cervical intraepithelial neoplasia, now known as "cervical squamous intraepithelial lesions", refers to the replacement of the cervical epithelium with cells of varying degrees of atypia. Divided into three grades, grade I cervical intraepithelial neoplasia, generally inflammatory manifestations, after treatment 50% to 60% of patients can naturally resolve; some lesions grow extremely slowly, and some may gradually develop into grade II and III, which are precancerous lesions. The chance of CINIII developing invasive carcinoma within 10 years is as high as 20%, and once CIN grade III is found, prompt surgical treatment is recommended.
It is worth mentioning that precancerous lesions cannot be equated with cancer, precancerous lesions are not cancer, nor are they the beginning of cancer, they have an essential difference from cancer. In addition, cancer will experience precancerous lesions, but not all precancerous lesions will eventually develop into cancer, and only a small number of people may become cancerous.