The histopathological characterization of oral Candida leukoplakias

Sixty four biopsy specimens of oral Candida leukoplakias were examined. Histological sections were stained with periodic acid-Schiff (PAS) reagent and by Grocott's silver method. C. albicans isolates were cultivated from all the patients but fungal hyphae were proved histologically only in 23 of them. PAS-positive and Grocott-positive elements were exclusively observed in the superficial epithelial layers, e.g., the cornified layer and the stratum granulosum. The inflammatory reaction was characterized by an early phase during which polymorphonuclear cells predominated. The skeletal muscle fascicles immediately adjacent to the infected epithelium showed striking degeneration and atrophy associated with a marked infiltrate of chronic inflammatory cells.