{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,11]],"date-time":"2026-03-11T13:57:50Z","timestamp":1773237470664,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":38,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"4","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,2,19]],"date-time":"2025-02-19T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1739923200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"University of Medicine and Pharmacy Carol Davila"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Diagnostics"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background\/Objectives: Oral leukoplakia (OLK) is an oral mucosal lesion classified in the oral potentially malignant disorder group and is associated with an increased risk of malignant transformation (MT). The aim of this study was to compare the clinical and histopathological features of two OLK groups, a group of smokers and a group of non-smokers. Methods: In this retrospective study, a cohort of 154 patients with OLK was divided into two groups based on the presence of smoking as a major risk factor. OLK diagnoses were established via clinical and histopathological examination. Results: Females were more abundant in the non-smoking group than in the smoking group, where males were more abundant (p &lt; 0.001). The average age of the smokers was lower than that of the non-smokers (p = 0.003). In the smokers, the buccal mucosa was most frequently affected, while in the non-smokers, the gums and the tongue were primarily involved (p = 0.016). In female smokers, involvement of the buccal area and multiple-site involvement were statistically significantly more frequently observed compared to that in female non-smokers (p = 0.006). Non-dysplastic lesions were predominant in both groups, with severe dysplasia observed more frequently in the non-smokers than in the smokers. MT was higher in the non-smoker group compared to that in the smoker group. Conclusions: OLK in smokers is different from OLK in non-smokers concerning female gender involvement, site location, the number of lesions, and the MT rate.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/diagnostics15040502","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,2,19]],"date-time":"2025-02-19T05:34:26Z","timestamp":1739943266000},"page":"502","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Comparative Clinical and Histopathological Study of Oral Leukoplakia in Smokers and Non-Smokers"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"15","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0001-6674-8383","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Andrei-Eduard","family":"\u0218erban","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Doctoral School, Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 050474 Bucharest, Romania"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-7658-9331","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ioanina","family":"P\u0103rl\u0103tescu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Dentistry, Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 050474 Bucharest, Romania"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Elena","family":"Milanesi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Medicine, Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 050474 Bucharest, Romania"},{"name":"Victor Babe\u0219 National Institute of Pathology, 050096 Bucharest, Romania"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Iulia Andreea","family":"Pelisenco","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Victor Babe\u0219 National Institute of Pathology, 050096 Bucharest, Romania"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Maria","family":"Dobre","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Victor Babe\u0219 National Institute of Pathology, 050096 Bucharest, Romania"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3919-862X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Mariana","family":"Costache","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Medicine, Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 050474 Bucharest, Romania"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"\u0218erban","family":"\u021aovaru","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Dentistry, Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 050474 Bucharest, Romania"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Paula","family":"Perlea","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Dentistry, Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 050474 Bucharest, Romania"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,2,19]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1862","DOI":"10.1111\/odi.13704","article-title":"Oral potentially malignant disorders: A consensus report from an international seminar on nomenclature and classification, convened by the WHO Collaborating Centre for Oral Cancer","volume":"27","author":"Warnakulasuriya","year":"2021","journal-title":"Oral Dis."},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"575","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1600-0714.2007.00582.x","article-title":"Nomenclature and classification of potentially malignant disorders of the oral mucosa","volume":"36","author":"Warnakulasuriya","year":"2007","journal-title":"J. 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