Oral squamous papilloma: clinical, histologic and immunohistochemical analyses

Oral squamous papilloma (OSP) is a benign proliferation of the stratified squamous epithelium, which results in a papillary or verrucous exophytic mass. Twelve patients suspected to have oral papilloma underwent excisional biopsy for histopathologic and immunohistochemical analysis. The majority of the patients (75%) were females, and the most prevalent site was the tongue, followed by the palate. The round and whitish form was present in 58.4% of the cases. The lesions were softened/flaccid in 66.7% of cases and a pedunculated attachment was seen in 75% of the lesions. The histopathologic examination revealed hyperparakeratosis, occasional basal hyperplasia, and koilocyte-like cells in 100% of the specimens. Immunohistochemical assays utilizing BP53-12 and Pab240 antibodies for p53 protein showed negative or weak immunostaining (91.6%) for both immunomarkers in all the epithelial layers examined. The findings suggest the benign nature of the lesions and small possibility of becoming malignant. (J Oral Sci 51, 367-372, 2009)