Oral hairy leukoplakia in an HIV-negative woman with Behçet's syndrome

Abstract

The first case of oral hairy leukoplakia in an HIV-negative patient with Behçet's syndrome is reported. The patient was a 47-year-old woman with bilateral lesions on the tongue. The clinic and histologic appearances were typical of hairy leukoplakia, and Epstein-Barr virus was demonstrated in the epithelial cells by DNA in situ hybridization. The patient had been on systemic steroid therapy for 15 years to control lesions of Behçet's syndrome. The literature now records 30 HIV-negative patients with hairy leukoplakia.