Oral leukoplakia. A histopathological study.

Histological sections from 100 leukoplakia patients were analyzed in order to define the characteristics of epithelial and connective tissue alterations and the possible correlation of these changes. Parakeratosis was found in 39% of the cases, orthokeratosis in 24% and both types of keratinization in 34% of the cases. The most characteristic alteration of the thickness of the epithelium was hyperplasia in 81% of the cases. Epithelial dysplasia was present in 27% of the samples. A chronic inflammatory infiltration was generally present in the subepithelial region and in some cases within the epithelium. An increase in the number of these cells related to hyperplasia, parakeratosis and dysplasia has also been found. Our results may be interpreted as a possible relation between epithelial and connective tissue changes in leukoplakia lesions.