Proliferative verrucous leukoplakia: Case study of 24 years and outcome of treatment with CO ₂ laser

Proliferative verrucous leukoplakia (PVL) is a rare disorder that affects the gum tissue around the teeth. PVL is a pre-cancerous disorder for which the cause is unknown and there is no treatment that yields a consistently successful result. This case study presents a patient diagnosed in 2000 with PVL involving the facial gum tissue of the upper right cuspid, lateral, and central incisor teeth. Over the next 24 years, the lesion was biopsied five times and two attempts to irradicate the lesion with a CO₂ laser were performed. All attempts at treatment were unsuccessful and the lesion slowly progressed to involve more areas of gum tissue. The last biopsy taken in February 2024 did not reveal any areas of developing cancer. During the 24 years covered in this report, the patient did not develop oral cancer. However, treatment with the CO₂ laser afforded no measurable benefit. Given the potential for developing cancer of the gum tissues, PVL patients should receive frequent oral exams and periodic biopsies for the detection of early cancer.