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Hairy Leukoplakia

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Encyclopedia of Pathology

Part of the book series: Encyclopedia of Pathology ((EP))

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Synonyms

Oral hairy leukoplakia

Definition

Oral hairy leukoplakia (OHL) is one of the many new disease entities brought to light by the epidemic of HIV infection. It is an Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-associated lesion presenting as a unilateral or bilateral, white mucosal plaque, usually located on the lateral border(s) of the tongue, that does not rub off and is histopathologically characterized pattern of hyperkeratosis and hairlike epithelial hyperplasia (Fig. 1). OHL is not exclusive to patients with HIV infection but can also be observed in other immune-compressed patients.

Fig. 1
figure 1

Hairy leukoplakia on the lateral border of the tongue (Courtesy of Prof. Dr. A. Vissink, Department of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery, UMCG, Groningen, The Netherlands)

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References and Further Reading

  • Greenspan, D., & Greenspan, J. S. (1992). Significance of oral hairy leukoplakia. Oral Surgery, Oral Medicine, and Oral Pathology, 73, 151–154.

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  • Greenspan, D., & Greenspan, J. S. (1996). HIV-related oral disease. Lancet, 348, 729–733.

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  • Greenspan, J. S., Greenspan, D., & Webster-Cyriaque, J. (2016). Hairy leukoplakia; lessons learned: 30-plus years. Oral Diseases, 22, 120–127.

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  • Piperi, E., Omlie, J., Koutlas, I. G., & Pambuccian, S. (2010). Oral hairy leukoplakia in HIV-negative patients: Report of 10 cases. International Journal of Surgical Pathology, 18, 177–183.

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  • Triantos, D., Porter, S. R., Scully, C., & Teo, C. G. (1997). Oral hairy leukoplakia: Clinicopathologic features, pathogenesis, diagnosis and clinical significance. Clinical Infectious Diseases, 25, 1392–1396.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pathology, The Netherlands Cancer Institute, Antoni van Leeuwenhoek Hospital, Plesmanlaan 121, 1066 CX, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

    Jacqueline E. van der Wal

Authors
  1. Jacqueline E. van der Wal
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Correspondence to Jacqueline E. van der Wal .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. NIJMEGEN, The Netherlands

    J.H.J.M. van Krieken

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© 2017 Springer International Publishing AG

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van der Wal, J.E. (2017). Hairy Leukoplakia. In: van Krieken, J. (eds) Encyclopedia of Pathology. Encyclopedia of Pathology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28845-1_725-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28845-1_725-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-28845-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-28845-1

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