Management of oral leukoplakia in patients with Fanconi anemia

J Oral Maxillofac Pathol. 2022 Feb;26(Suppl 1):S133-S138. doi: 10.4103/jomfp.jomfp_280_21. Epub 2022 Feb 28.

Abstract

Fanconi anemia (FA) is a rare genetic disease involving an increased risk of developing acute myeloid leukemia and solid tumors, especially head-and-neck squamous cell carcinomas, for which the oral cavity is the most frequent site of occurrence. The patient presented in this study underwent allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) and developed nonhomogeneous oral leukoplakia after 7 years, which was promptly removed and diagnosed with high-grade epithelial dysplasia. Many risk conditions for oral squamous cell carcinoma were featured in the present case including FA, allogeneic HSCT, graft-versus-host disease, immunosuppressive therapy, female gender, nonsmoker, tongue location and nonhomogeneous type of leukoplakia. Close follow-up of the entire upper aerodigestive tract mucosa and early removal of all suspected lesions are highly recommended in the management of such patients.

Keywords: Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation; epithelial dysplasia; excisional biopsy; oral squamous cell carcinoma; risk factors.

Publication types

  • Case Reports