Vocal Cord Leukoplakia: Characteristics and Pathological Significance

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.