Recurrence of Oral Leukoplakia after CO2 Laser Resection: A Prospective Longitudinal Study

• Published in: Cancers Vol. 14; no. 21; p. 5455
• Main Authors: Rodriguez-Lujan, Adela, López-Jornet, Pia, Pons-Fuster López, Eduardo
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Basel MDPI AG 06.11.2022; MDPI
• Subjects: Alcohol; Body mass index; Cancer therapies; Carbon dioxide; Chemotherapy; Dysplasia; Genetic transformation; Hyperplasia; Laser surgery; Lasers; Lesions; Leukokeratosis; Longitudinal studies; Oral cancer; Oral hygiene; Photodynamic therapy; Regression analysis; Risk factors; Surgery; Tobacco; Wound healing; Spain
• DOI: 10.3390/cancers14215455
• ISSN: 2072-6694

Aim: The aim of this study is to assess the efficacy of CO2 laser treatment in oral leukoplakia and to analyse the recurrence rate of oral leukoplakia lesions at 18-month follow-up. Materials and methods: A prospective clinical study regarding CO2 laser treatment for oral leukoplakia was conducted, in which 39 patients with a total of 53 oral leukoplakias were included. Follow-up was performed at 18 months post-surgery and the following variables were studied: sex, age, associated risk factors, clinical classification, size, location and presence of epithelial dysplasia, recurrence, and rate of malignant transformation after resection. Results: In the analysis of the final results 18 months after baseline, a treatment success rate of 43.75% was observed. Oral leukoplakia recurred in 54.17% of cases, and 2.08% of leukoplakias progressed to cancer. Among all the studied variables (age, tobacco use, size, location, clinical type or histology), no significant differences were found with regard to recurrence. Conclusion: The use of CO2 laser therapy to treat leukoplakia lesions is sufficient to remove such lesions. However, parameters that can assess recurrence need to be sought.