Exophytic oral verrucous hyperplasia: a new entity

Area of Science:

• Oral Pathology
• Dermatopathology
• Oncology

Background:

• Oral verrucous hyperplasia (OVH) is a recently described entity originating from South Asia.
• Limited data exists on OVH within the Indian population.
• Distinguishing OVH from similar verruco-papillary lesions is crucial for accurate diagnosis and management.

Purpose of the Study:

• To apply established histopathological criteria to differentiate OVH from other oral verruco-papillary lesions in an Indian cohort.
• To analyze the clinical and microscopic features of OVH in comparison to verrucous carcinoma (VC) and oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC).

Main Methods:

• Retrospective analysis of 188 verruco-papillary lesions from pathology archives.
• Histopathological evaluation using criteria for OVH based on published guidelines.
• Statistical analysis (Pearson chi-square test) to compare clinical and histopathological features.

Main Results:

• OVH was identified in 57 cases, alongside 84 VC, 16 OSCC, and 31 other lesions.
• Both OVH and VC showed male predominance and commonly affected the buccal mucosa.
• Distinct microscopic features of OVH included absence of endophytic growth and presence of epithelial dysplasia, differentiating it from VC.

Conclusions:

• OVH is proposed as a distinct entity within the Indian population, characterized by specific histopathological features.
• The presence of dysplasia in OVH raises questions about its potential role as a precursor to oral squamous or verrucous carcinoma.
• OVH should be considered in the classification of oral potentially malignant disorders.