Relationship between Candida albicans and premalignant changes in the oral mucosa
Bibliographic review
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.29166/od.v28i1.9656Keywords:
oral squamous cell carcinoma, Precancerous conditions, oral potentially malignant disordersAbstract
Objective: This review aimed to analyze the existing scientific evidence on the relationship between C. albicans and premalignant changes in the oral mucosa. Materials and methods: The literature search was conducted between October and November 2025 using the PubMed, SciELO, and Google Scholar databases. Cross-references obtained from the bibliographies of relevant articles were also included. Studies published between 2015 and 2025 were considered. Subsequently, an initial review of titles and abstracts was performed to assess their relevance to the objective of the review, followed by a full-text reading of the selected articles. Studies that did not provide information related to C. albicans and oral premalignant changes were excluded. Results: C. albicans is the fungal species most frequently isolated from both healthy and diseased oral cavities, with reported frequencies exceeding 80%. In addition, C. albicans was more frequently observed in cases of oral leukoplakia, a potentially malignant oral disorder, with reported prevalence rates ranging from 35% to 67.24%. Furthermore, non-homogeneous leukoplakia showed greater infection, inflammation, and risk compared with homogeneous leukoplakia. Conclusions: The evidence reviewed supports that the presence of C. albicans is a recurrent finding in oral potentially malignant disorders and oral cancer. Therefore, its consideration within the clinical and diagnostic assessment of these lesions is justified, in accordance with the objective of the present study.
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