Proliferative verrucous leukoplakia: a proposal for diagnostic criteria.

Proliferative verrucous leukoplakia (PVL) is a rare form of oral leukoplakia, which was first described in 1985 by Hansen et al. Since then, various published case series have presented PVL as a disease with aggressive biological behaviour due to its high probability of recurrence and a high rate of malignant transformation, usually higher than 70%. PVL is a long-term progressive condition, which is observed more frequently in women and elderly patients over 60 years at the time of diagnosis. Eventually, PVL tends to become multifocal with a progressive deterioration of the lesions, making it more and more difficult to control. Tobacco use does not seem to have a significant influence on th…