Verrucous hyperplasia: A clinico-pathological study

CONTEXT: Oral verrucous hyperplasia (OVH) is a premalignant lesion that may transform into an oral cancer. AIMS: The present retrospective study was carried out to analyze the clinico-pathological features of verrucous hyperplasia (VH). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Total 19 diagnosed cases of verrucous hyperplasia were retrospectively analyzed for demographic, clinical and histopathological features including dysplasia. RESULTS: Average age of occurrence of lesion was 4 (th) decade of life, with male predominance (2:1) and common site of occurrence being buccal mucosa. Clinically it present as verrucous exophytic growth with sharp or blunt projections on surface, which corresponds histologically. Tobacco lime quid placement in buccal vestibule was key etiologic factor. Histopathologicaly 68% cases showed dysplasia out of which moderate dysplasia predominates (42%). Moderately dysplastic cases were found to be associated with mixed habit pattern. Maximum cases were treated with excision. CONCLUSION: Biopsy specimen comprising of adjacent normal epithelium is key in distinguishing verrucous hyperplasia from verrucous carcinoma. Clinical behavior and recurrence potential needs to be assessed with long term follow up studies.