A case of proliferative verrucous leukoplakia of the oral mucosa with human papillomavirus type 16 infection

Abstract

A case of proliferative verrucous leukoplakia (PVL) in the oralmucosa of a 67-year-old woman is reported. PVL was first described in 1985 as an unique type of oral leukoplakia that has a high risk of malignant transformation. In our patient, the initial lesion was hyperkeratosis associated with mild dysplasia of the buccal mucosa. This condition recurred repeatedly and spread to the upper and lower gingivas, lower lip, and palate. The lesions changed to verrucous hyperplasia and finally developed into verrucous carcinomas. The patient was not cured of the disease, though she received surgical excision 6 times over a period of 7 years 10 months. She died of rupture of a thoracic aortic aneurysm. Immunohistochemical staining for human papillomavirus type 16 (HPV16)-related protein was positive in the epithelial cells of the lesions, suggesting that HPV16 was involved in the pathogenesis of PVL.