Cotton-swab cryotherapy for oral leukoplakia.
BACKGROUND
Oral leukoplakia (OL) is a common oral precancerous lesion. Cotton-swab cryotherapy (CSC) is commonly used for treating skin lesions but is rarely used for treating OL lesions.


METHODS
Sixty OL lesions were treated by CSC once every 2 weeks until complete regression (CR) of the lesion had been achieved.


RESULTS
CR was achieved in all 60 OL lesions after an average of 6.3 treatments with cryotherapy. The number of CSC treatments required to achieve CR was significantly fewer for OL lesions on oral mucosal sites other than the tongue, those <2 cm2, those with epithelial dysplasia, and those with a surface keratin thickness of <55 microm. Multivariate analyses showed that only the location and area of the OL lesions were independent factors influencing the number of CSC treatments required to achieve CR.


CONCLUSIONS
For OL lesions with a mean surface area of < or = 1.8 cm2, CR can be achieved with fewer than 7 CSC treatments on average. CSC is a simple, safe, easy, conservative, and acceptable treatment modality for OL lesions.
Yu
Chuan-Hang
CH
Graduate Institute of Clinical Dentistry, School of Dentistry, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan.
Chen
Hsin-Ming
HM
Chang
Chia-Chuan
CC
Hung
Hsien-Yen
HY
Hsiao
Chuhsing Kate
CK
Chiang
Chun-Pin
CP
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D015331:Cohort Studies; D017679:Cryotherapy / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007972:Leukoplakia, Oral / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D016012:Poisson Distribution; D011230:Precancerous Conditions / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy*; D011336:Probability; D016896:Treatment Outcome