Educational Article

Actinic cheilitis: guidance on monitoring and management in primary care

¹ Department of Oral Medicine, Guy's & St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK
² School of Medicine and Dentistry, University Santiago de Compostela, Spain
³ Oral Medicine, CESPU University, Gandra, Portugal
⁴ Oral Surgery department, Bordeaux CHU Hospital ,University of Bordeaux, France
⁵ Dipartimento di Scienze Biomediche Chirurgiche e Odontoiatriche, Università degli Studi di Milano, Milan, Italy
⁶ School of Dental Medicine, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
⁷ Oral Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, School of Dentistry, University of Barcelona, Spain
⁸ Faculty of Dentistry, Oral & Craniofacial Sciences, King's College London, UK

^* Correspondence: Rui.Albuquerque@gstt.nhs.uk
^† These authors contributed equally to this work

Received: 13 July 2023
Accepted: 17 July 2023

Abstract

Actinic cheilitis is an oral potentially malignant disorder caused by UV radiation leading to damage to epithelial keratinocytes of the lips. It predominantly affects the vermillion border of the lower lip. Due to its association with chronic UV exposure, associated risk factors include geographic areas, outdoor occupations, and skin subtypes. A high proportion of lip squamous cell carcinomas arise from actinic cheilitis lesions, with histological examination usually showing a degree of dysplasia. This paper aims to review the existing literature regarding the clinical picture of actinic cheilitis, its prevalence, differential diagnoses, and consensus on management, for the education of the general dental practitioner in identifying and surveillance of this lesion.