Vocal Cord Leukoplakia: Characteristics and Pathological Significance

Abstract

ABSTRACT Leukoplakia is a nonspecific clinical term used to describe a mucosal white patch or plaque that cannot be easily scraped off. Leukoplakia of vocal cord represents a chronic inflammation or exposure to irritants which can also stimulate development of precancerous conditions or cancer. This study aimed to determine clinical and histopathological characteristics of vocal cord leukoplakia. A total of 66 patients were included. All patients with a clinical diagnosis of vocal cord leukoplakia who had undergone direct laryngoscopic examination and biopsy were analyzed retrospectively. The most common pathological finding was mild dysplasia (25.8%). Cancer was detected in 18.2% of cases. Malignancy was more frequent in cases with unilateral vocal cord involvement (23.4%) when compared with bilateral cases (5.2%) and in patients with localized lesions (19.3%) when compared with lesions involving whole cord (11.1%), but the differences were not statistically significant (p > 0.05). Smoking history was found to be related with cancer diagnosis (p < 0.001). In the presence of a serious smoking history, there is high-risk for malignancy and leukoplakia should be sampled immediately for histopathological examination. Although statistically not proven, cancer rates are higher in more localized and unilateral lesions. How to cite this article Kizil Y, Aydil U, Yilmaz M, Ekinci Ö, Güzeldir OT, Savas VA, Köybasioglu A. Vocal Cord Leukoplakia: Characteristics and Pathological Significance. Int J Phonosurg Laryngol 2012;2(1):9-13.