Diagnosis of vocal cord leukoplakia: The role of a novel narrow band imaging endoscopic classification.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to introduce a new narrow band imaging (NBI) endoscopic classification for the diagnosis of vocal cord leukoplakia.

Study Design: Case series.

Methods: From January 2010 to February 2018, a total of 120 cases of vocal cord leukoplakia were enrolled in this study. The NBI endoscopic system was used to examine the vocal cords. Each lesion was observed by NBI endoscopy and evaluated according to the detailed morphologic findings of intraepithelial papillary capillary loop (IPCL). The superficial IPCL patterns were classified into six types (types I-VI). The differential diagnosis abilities of NBI classification for benign and malignant leukoplakia were investigated.

Results: Out of the 120 cases of vocal cord leukoplakia, 81% (97 of 120) related to benign lesions (including inflammation, epithelial proliferation, hyperkeratosis, dyskeratosis, mild dysplasia, and moderate dysplasia); the remaining 19% (23 of 120) consisted of malignant lesions (including severe dysplasia, carcinoma in situ, and invasive carcinoma). The accuracy of differential diagnosis for vocal cord leukoplakia using NBI endoscopy was up to 90.8% (109 of 120), significantly higher than that of white light imaging (70.0%, 84 of 120) (χ  = 16.536, P =  0.000). The sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values of the diagnosis for malignant vocal cord leukoplakia under the NBI endoscope were 82.6%, 92.8%, 73.1%, and 95.7%, respectively. There is relatively good consistency between the NBI endoscopic diagnosis and pathological diagnosis (kappa = 0.718, P = 0.000).

Conclusion: The new NBI endoscopic classification of vocal cord leukoplakia can improve the accuracy of distinguishing benign and malignant leukoplakia.

Level Of Evidence: 4 Laryngoscope, 129:429-434, 2019.