title: Oral submucous fibrosis: An update on current theories of pathogenesis.
abstract: Over the last 40 years, many theories linking oral submucous fibrosis (OSMF) to various risk factors have been proposed. Spicy, pungent foods and irritants such as supari (areca nut), paan (betel leaves), tobacco (through chewing or smoking)-the common Asian habits of chewing the aforementioned agents-have all been incriminated as causative agents. Systemic factors such as nutritional deficiency, genetic predisposition and autoimmunity have also been proposed in the pathogenesis of OSMF. However, the precise aetiology of OSMF is still unknown, and no conclusive evidence has been found despite many extensive investigations on implicated factors. Most of the ideas proposed have been derived from the existing clinical and epidemiological data. We present a comprehensive review of the various theories regarding the pathogenesis of the condition, but have not concentrated on malignant transformation in this article.
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Navodaya Dental College and Hospital, Raichur, Karnataka, India.
authors.forename: Gururaj
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Arakeri
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Bapuji Dental College and Hospital, Davangere, Karnataka, India.
authors.forename: Kirthi Kumar
authors.initials: KK
authors.lastname: Rai
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology, Navodaya Dental College and Hospital, Raichur, Karnataka, India.
authors.forename: Santosh
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hunasgi
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Radboud University Medical Centre, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: M A W
authors.initials: MAW
authors.lastname: Merkx
authors.affiliation: Suzhou Ribo Life Science Co. Ltd., Jiangsu, China.|Xiangya Hospital and School of Stomatology, Central South University, Changsha, China.
authors.forename: Shan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery, Queen Alexandra Hospital, Cosham, Portsmouth, UK.
authors.forename: Peter A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Brennan
mesh_terms: D001114:Areca / Q000009:adverse effects; D001327:Autoimmune Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology / Q000235:genetics / Q000473:pathology; D003094:Collagen / Q000378:metabolism; D005109:Extracellular Matrix / Q000378:metabolism; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease; D006801:Humans; D009914:Oral Submucous Fibrosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology* / Q000235:genetics / Q000473:pathology*; D012307:Risk Factors; D012463:Saliva / Q000737:chemistry; D012907:Smoking / Q000009:adverse effects; D014030:Tobacco, Smokeless / Q000009:adverse effects
chemical_list: D003094:Collagen
keywords: oral submucous fibrosis; pathogenesis; review