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Erythroplakia

Erythroplakia is a flat red patch or lesion in the mouth that cannot be attributed to any other pathology. There are many other conditions that are similar in appearance and must be ruled out before a diagnosis of erythroplakia is made. Sometimes, a diagnosis is delayed for up to two weeks in order to see if the lesion spontaneously regresses on its own or if another cause can be found. Erythroplakia frequently is associated with dysplasia, and is thus a pre-cancerous lesion. more...

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Erythroplakia has an unknown cause but researchers presume it to be similar to the cause of squamous cell carcinoma. It is mostly found in elderly men around the ages of 65 - 74. It is commonly associated with smoking. The most common areas in the mouth where erythroplakia is found are the floor of the mouth, the tongue, and the soft palate. It appears as a red macule or plaque with well-demarcated borders. The texture is characterized as soft and velvety. An adjacent area of leukoplakia may be found along with the erythroplakia.

Microscopically, the tissue exhibits severe epithelial dysplasia, carcinoma-in-situ, or invasive squamous cell carcinoma in 90% of cases. There is an absence of keratin production and a reduced amount of epithelial cells. Since the underlying vascular structures are less hidden by tissue, erythroplakia appears red when viewed in a clinical setting.

Treatment involves biopsy of the lesion to identify extent of dysplasia. Complete excision of the lesion is sometimes advised depending on the histopathology found in the biopsy. Even in these cases, recurrence of the erythroplakia is common and, thus, long-term monitoring is needed.

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Clinical Quiz - American Academy of Family Physicians continuing medical education quiz
From American Family Physician, 4/1/02

Clinical Quiz questions are based on selected articles in this issue. Answers appear in this issue. American Family Physician has been approved by the American Academy of Family Physicians as having educational content acceptable for Prescribed credit hours. Term of approval covers issues published within one year from the beginning distribution date of April 2002. This issue has been approved for up to 4.5 Prescribed credit hours. Credit may be claimed for one year from the date of this issue.

The American Academy of Family Physicians is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education to provide continuing medical education for physicians.

The AAFP designates this educational activity for a maximum of 4.5 hours in Category 1 credit toward the American Medical Association Physician's Recognition Award. Each physician should claim only those hours of credit that he or she actually spent in the educational activity.

AAFP Credit

Each copy of AFP contains a Clinical Quiz answer card. AAFP members may use this card to obtain the designated number of Prescribed credit hours for the year in which the card is postmarked.

AMA/PRA Category 1 Credit

AAFP members who satisfy the Academy's continuing medical education requirements are automatically eligible for the AMA/PRA.

Physicians who are not members of the AAFP are eligible to receive the designated number of credit hours in Category 1 of the AMA/PRA on completion and return of the Clinical Quiz answer card. AFP keeps a record of AMA/PRA Category 1 credit hours for nonmember physicians. This record will be provided on request; however, nonmembers are responsible for reporting their own Category 1 CME credits when applying for the AMA/PRA or other certificates or credentials.

For health care professionals who are not physicians and are AFP subscribers, a record of CME credit is kept by AAFP and will be provided to you on written request. You are responsible for reporting CME hours to your professional organization.

NOTE: The full text of AFP is available online (www.aafp.org/afp), including each issue's Clinical Quiz. The table of contents for each online issue will link you to the Clinical Quiz. Just follow the online directions to take the quiz and, if you're an AAFP member, you can submit your answers for CME credit.

Instructions

E Read each article, answer all questions on the quiz pages and transfer your answers to the Clinical Quiz answer card (bound into your copy of AFP). This will help you avoid errors and permit you to check your answers against the correct answers.

E Mail the Clinical Quiz answer card within one year (by April 30, 2003). The bar code on the answer card contains your identification for CME credit hours.

Before beginning the test, please note:

Each Clinical Quiz includes two types of questions: Type A and Type X.

COPYRIGHT 2002 American Academy of Family Physicians
COPYRIGHT 2002 Gale Group

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