Recurrence of vocal fold leukoplakia after carbon dioxide laser therapy.

This work aims to analyze the recurrence of vocal fold leukoplakia after carbon dioxide (CO) laser resection. In this retrospective study, all patients undergoing CO laser resection of vocal fold leukoplakia were followed up for at least 2 years. Recurrence was diagnosed as any presence of leukoplakia in the vocal cord subsequent to previous successful complete resection. A total of 326 patients with complete resection of vocal fold leukoplakia and follow-up subsequent surveillance laryngoscopy were studied. The recurrence rate, the recurrence time, and risk factors were evaluated. Of these, 52 (16.0%) patients experienced recurrence with a mean follow-up time of 50.5 ± 15.4 months. The mean time to recurrence was 16.2 ± 14.1 months. Univariate analysis showed that the size of lesion (P < 0.001, Pearson χ test; P < 0.001, log-rank test) and the pathological grade (P = 0.025, Pearson χ test; P = 0.028, log-rank test) were significantly related to recurrence. The size of lesion was an independent prognostic factor for recurrence using multivariate analysis (P = 0.001, logistic regression; P = 0.001, Cox proportional hazards model). Considering the possible recurrence of vocal fold leukoplakia, long-term follow-up is required after CO laser resection. In conclusion, the size of lesion combined with the pathological grade are important risk factors that predict vocal fold leukoplakia recurrence.