[Oral hairy leukoplakia: histopathologic features of subclinical stage]

Oral hairy leukoplakia (OHL) is one of the most common oral manifestations of AIDS, with diagnostic and prognostic value. OHL is associated to the Epstein-Barr virus and presents clinical and histological defined characteristics. There have already been reports about a subclinical stage of OHL, although they lacked histopathologic characterization. The present study had the aim to describe the histopathological characteristics of subclinical hairy leukoplakia, as well as to carry out a comparative analysis between clinical and subclinical OHL. For that, 11 cases were analyzed--5 biopsies from patients who presented with the lesion and 6 samples from the borders of tongues obtained in necropsies. The histopathological findings in subclinical OHL were: absence of parakeratosis and papillomatosis, mild acanthosis, ballooning cells and nuclear alterations. In situ hybridization and immunostaining were positive for EBV in the nuclear alterations identified in the histopathological analysis. Based on the identification of EBV in the nuclear alterations, it was possible to conclude that subclinical OHL, similarly to the clinical lesion, presents histopathological features that are specific and sufficient to establish the definitive diagnosis, regardless of the identification of the virus.