Summary

Potentially malignant disorders (PMD) have a high risk of malignant transformation. Habits such as tobacco and alcohol use predispose to PMD and subsequently to an oral carcinoma. Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) can occur even without the usage of tobacco. Occupational exposure to actinic rays may predispose to the development of OSCC in the lip. People who are involved in farming or those exposed to an environmental background radiation, such as ultraviolet rays, develop a PMD called actinic cheilosis. A high proportion of patients with actinic cheilosis develop an oral carcinoma when not diagnosed and treated in early stages. This case depicts the clinical and histological changes in a 61-year-old Indian man with actinic cheilosis.