Clinical epidemiological study of Proliferative Verrucous Leukoplakia

Abstract

Proliferative verrucous leukoplakia (PVL) is a rare variant of leukoplakia, with high recurrence rate, that develops as multifocal white exophytic plaques in the mucosal surface. PVL tends to spread and involve other spots, and it can suffer malignant transformation into squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). An 8-year retrospective statistical survey was realized at Oral Medicine Department, in Rio de Janeiro State University. Fourteen patients were diagnosed with PVL; 71.4% (10) were white-skinned and 92.8% (13) were females. The average age was 67.1 years. The most affected places were gingiva/alveolar ridge (85.7%), buccal mucosa (42.8%) and tongue (28.6%). Malignant transformation was observed in 14.3% (2) of the cases. PVL has a strong predilection for women, which can be confirmed, once that only one case was diagnosed in men. PVL showed no association with tobacco use; only 14.3% (2) of the patients related to use tobacco. The importance of a meticulous clinical examination is evidenced, for identification of premalignant lesions, which are mostly asymptomatic and due to its progression into SCC.