Successful treatment of oral leukoplakia by photodynamic therapy with long-term follow-up: A case report

The treatment strategies of oral leukoplakia (OLK) include drugs and photodynamic therapy (PDT). Herein, we report a case of OLK who had no response to tretinoin but was successfully treated by PDT with long-term follow-up. A case of OLK successfully treated by PDT was reported. A 44-year-old female visited our department for rough sensation on the tongue for six months without any medication used. Clinical examination demonstrated white homogeneous plaques on the dorsum of tongue, with rough texture. OLK with epithelial mild dysplasia was diagnosed by histopathological examination. Non-invasive medication, tretinoin, was administrated to the patient for three months, but no improvement was observed. Then, the patient received pre-treatment of carbon dioxide laser and the subsequent 5-ALA-mediated PDT on the tongue. During the 24-month follow-up, no adverse reaction occurred. PDT can rapidly eliminate the lesions of OLK and is a reliable approach for clinical treatment of OLK.