title: Diagnostic criteria in proliferative verrucous leukoplakia: evaluation.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  to evaluate the ability of the diagnostic criteria proposed by Cerero et al in 2010 to perform an early diagnose in patients with proliferative verrucous leukoplakia.
  
  
  METHODS
  retrospective study with patients diagnosed with leukoplakia at Oral Medicine Service at Oral Medicine and Surgery Department at Dentistry Faculty at Universidad Complutense of Madrid.
  
  
  RESULTS
  the criteria were applied in 116 patients, turning positive in 40 cases. Out of these, 24 (60%) had been previously diagnosed with PVL. Most frequent criteria were major criteria A and E, concerning lesion's site and histopathology, and minor criteria b and c, concerning sex and smoking habit.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  diagnostic criteria developed by Cerero et al can be a useful tool for an early diagnose of PVL, as in 60% of the cases, the criteria would have allowed to make an early diagnose of the disease.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine and Buccofacial Surgery, Faculty of Dentistry, Complutense University of Madrid, Spain, rcererol@odon.ucm.es.
authors.forename: Begoña
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: García-Chías
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Casado-De La Cruz
authors.forename: Germán-Carlos
authors.initials: GC
authors.lastname: Esparza-Gómez
authors.forename: Rocío
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Cerero-Lapiedra
mesh_terms: D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007972:Leukoplakia, Oral / Q000473:pathology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies