Characterization of oral microbiome in homogeneous and proliferative verrucous leukoplakia, oral squamous cell carcinoma and oral squamous cell carcinoma preceded by proliferative verrucous leukoplakia

Oral microbiome plays an important role in oral diseases. Unfortunately, literature is sparse about the microbiome associated to oral potentially malignant disorders (OPMDs) and the potential role of microbial dysbiosis in them remains largely unknown. Here, we aimed to characterize the oral microbiome of homogeneous leucoplakia (HL), proliferative verrucous leukoplakia (PVL), oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) and OSCC preceded by PVL (PVL-OSCC) patients and compare it with those of healthy controls.