Henry Ford Hospital Medical Journal Volume 11 | Number 3 Article 3 9-1963 The Leucoplakic Vulva: Premalignant Determinants C. Paul Hodgkinson Roy B. P. Patton M. A. Ayers Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarlycommons.henryford.com/hfhmedjournal Part of the Life Sciences Commons, Medical Specialties Commons, and the Public Health Commons Recommended Citation Hodgkinson, C. Paul; Patton, Roy B. P.; and Ayers, M. A. (1963) "The Leucoplakic Vulva: Premalignant Determinants," Henry Ford Hospital Medical Bulletin : Vol. 11 : No. 3 , 279-287. Available at: https://scholarlycommons.henryford.com/hfhmedjournal/vol11/iss3/3 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by Henry Ford Health System Scholarly Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Henry Ford Hospital Medical Journal by an authorized editor of Henry Ford Health System Scholarly Commons. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. Henry Ford Hosp. Med. Bull. Vol. 11, September, 1963 THE LEUCOPLAKIC VULVA Premalignant Determinants C. PAUL HODGKINSON, M.D.,* ROY B. P. PATTON, M.D., AND M. A. AYERS, M.D.* IN A PAPER proposing to discuss the leucoplakic vulva and any predisposing ten dency it may have to the development of squamous cell carcinoma, the term "pre malignant" has presumptuous connotations. This is presumptuous because it implies that more is known about cancer and its mode of development than can be supported by facts. What happens in the cell prior to the stage of carcinoma-in-situ is a burning and unsolved question in cancer research. How to detect and appraise the parameters of malignant potential is the essence of meaning connoted by the word "premalignant".