USE OF THERMOGRAPHY FOR DIAGNOSIS OF ACTINIC CHEILITS AND LOWER LIP SQUAMOUS CELL CARCINOMA

Lower lip squamous cell carcinoma (LLSCC) represents frequent lip malignant neoplasms, and the majority is preceded by actinic cheilitis (AC), a potentially malignant disorder. In this context, we report 3 cases of AC and 1 of LLSCC, emphasizing the importance of thermography as an auxiliary tool in diagnosis. In AC and LLSCC, thermography showed, respectively, whitish areas with higher heat emission and reddish circular area of irregular thermal distribution. After acquisition of thermography images, incisional biopsies were performed to evaluate microscopic alterations according to the criteria described by the World Health Organization (2017). Of the AC cases, 1 was diagnosed as mild epithelial dysplasia and 2 were moderate epithelial dysplasia. LLSCC was confirmed on anatomopathologic examination. As a result, we observed that thermography is not able to distinguish the different degrees of epithelial dysplasia found in AC, but it is a new imaging method useful in distinguishing AC from LLSCC.