oral leukoplakia: diagnosis and treatment

Background and aim: oral leukoplakia (ol) is a common premalignant lesion. the possible benefits of specific interventions in preventing a malignant transformation of ol are not well understood. this review assesses different invasive treatment techniques for ol and evaluate the optimal treatment possibilities. methods: a medline (pubmed) search was conducted and heterogeneity between the studies was found, e.g., with regard to the ol lesions, patient groups, follow-up time, and definition of recurrence. results: the recurrence and malignant transformation rate after the different treatment methods were evaluated. the mean overall recurrence rate varied with the treatment method. conclusion: a surgical treatment appears to decrease the risk of transformation but does not fully eliminate it. follow-up should be done regardless of the surgical treatment.