title: Oral hairy leukoplakia: clinical aspects, histologic morphology and differential diagnosis.
abstract: Clinical and histologic morphology of oral hairy leukoplakia in 85 HIV-positive patients were studied. Differential diagnosis of oral hairy leukoplakia in comparison with the normal lingual and buccal epithelium from both HIV-positive and HIV-negative patients, and with other tongue conditions was also examined. Oral hairy leukoplakia lesions were located on the lateral borders of the tongue and showed a corrugated/hairy aspect in the majority of cases. Hyperparakeratosis, hyperplasia/acanthosis, and a papillated epithelial surface were common findings. A parakeratin band and ballooning cells were present in 60% and 99% of the cases, respectively. Some of the histologic features of oral hairy leukoplakia were present in the normal lingual epithelium of both HIV-negative and HIV-positive patients as well as in other tongue conditions. Thus, many histologic features of oral hairy leukoplakia appear not to be specific.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Odontology and Stomatology, University of Florence, Italy.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Ficarra
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Gaglioti
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Di Pietro
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Adler-Storthz
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D004848:Epithelium / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D006679:HIV Seropositivity / Q000150:complications / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D006965:Hyperplasia; D007972:Leukoplakia, Oral / Q000150:complications / Q000473:pathology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009061:Mouth Mucosa / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000473:pathology; D014059:Tongue / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000473:pathology*