TY - JOUR TI - Recurrence in oral premalignancy: Clinicopathologic and immunohistochemical analysis AU - Georgaki, M. AU - Avgoustidis, D. AU - Theofilou, V.I. AU - Piperi, E. AU - Pettas, E. AU - Kalyvas, D.G. AU - Vlachodimitropoulos, D. AU - Perisanidis, C. AU - Lazaris, A.C. AU - Nikitakis, N.G. JO - DIAGNOSTIC ONCOLOGY PY - 2021 VL - 11 TODO - 5 SP - null PB - MDPI AG SN - null TODO - 10.3390/diagnostics11050872 TODO - baculoviral IAP repeat containing protein 5; cyclin D1; Ki 67 antigen; peroxidase; protein bcl xl; STAT3 protein, adult; alcohol consumption; Article; buccal mucosa; cancer recurrence; clinical article; clinical feature; comparative study; controlled study; disease free survival; dysplasia; epithelium hyperplasia; female; follow up; histopathology; human; human tissue; hyperplasia; immunohistochemistry; immunoreactivity; local anesthesia; male; middle aged; mouth cancer; precancer; predictive value; proliferation index; recurrent disease; smoking habit; social drinker TODO - Oral leukoplakia (OL) has a propensity for recurrence and malignant transformation (MT). Herein, we evaluate sociodemographic, clinical, microscopic and immunohistochemical parameters as predictive factors for OL recurrence, also comparing primary lesions (PLs) with recurrences. Thirty-three patients with OL, completely removed either by excisional biopsy or by laser ablation following incisional biopsy, were studied. Selected molecules associated with the STAT3 oncogenic pathway, including pSTAT3, Bcl-xL, survivin, cyclin D1 and Ki-67, were further analyzed. A total of 135 OL lesions, including 97 PLs and 38 recurrences, were included. Out of 97 PLs, 31 recurred at least once and none of them underwent MT, during a mean follow-up time of 48.3 months. There was no statistically significant difference among the various parameters in recurrent vs. non-recurrent PLs, although recurrence was most frequent in non-homogeneous lesions (p = 0.087) and dysplastic lesions recurred at a higher percentage compared to hyperplastic lesions (34.5% vs. 15.4%). Lower levels of Bcl-xL and survivin were identified as significant risk factors for OL recurrence. Recurrences, although smaller and more frequently homogeneous and non-dysplastic compared to their corresponding PLs, exhibited increased immunohistochemical expression of oncogenic molecules, especially pSTAT3 and Bcl-xL. Our results suggest that parameters associated with recurrence may differ from those that affect the risk of progression to malignancy and support OL management protocols favoring excision and close monitoring of all lesions. © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. ER -