Usefulness of Toki's morphological criteria for the diagnosis of oral lesions caused by human papillomavirus

Background: Oral lesions caused by human papillomavirus (HPV), share morphological features which may complicate their diagnosis. Aim: To analyze the usefulness of Toki's morphological criteria for the diagnosis of HPV lesions in cervix, in the diagnosis of oral lesions. Materials and Methods: Retrospective study of 355 oral lesions by HPV. The pathologic evaluation was carried out three times by the same examiner with a Kappa coefficient of 0.780 (p = 0.01). Toki's criteria scored the presence of acanthosis as 1, dyskeratosis as 1, koilocytosis as 4, basilar hyperplasia as 1, bi or multinucleated cells as 2 and papillomatosis as 1. The information was analyzed using Χ² and binary logistic regression. Results: Fifty eight percent of cases (207) corresponded to Verruca Vulgaris (VV), 23% (80) to Multifocal Epithelial Hyperplasia (MEH), and 19% (68) to Condyloma Acuminatum (CA). According to Toki's criteria, 76/80 MEH lesions, 195/207 of VV and 67/68 of CA, had a score equal or greater than six. A logistic regression showed that dyskeratosis suggests the presence of MEH. The presence of acanthosis and dyskeratosis in HPV oral lesions are not useful criteria for the diagnosis of VV. No significant associations with CA were found. Conclusions: The morphological criteria studied do not predict their possible viral etiology and do not allow a differential diagnosis of the lesions. Therefore, polymerase chain reaction studies are required to identify high-risk HPVs or sexually transmitted viral lesions.