Histopathological features of juvenile-onset laryngeal papillomatosis related to severity

Background Laryngeal papillomatosis (LP) is a disease that presents in both juvenile (JLP) and adult patients (ALP). This study correlated papillomatosis characteristics with the Derkay score. Methods Retrospective data and biopsies of 36 patients with JLP and 56 with ALP were collected and separated into groups according to their scores. Results The mean of the Derkay score, in the JLP group was 10.97 and in Group ALP was 8.26. The JLP group presented a more aggressive result than in the adult group (P = .02). In the JLP group, the respiratory difficulty (P = .01) and tracheostomy were correlated to a higher Derkay score (P < .05). Microscopically, the JLP samples presented a higher incidence of atypical mitosis and mitosis above the basal cells layer of the epithelium (P < .05) and these characteristics were correlated with a higher Derkay index (P = .03). Conclusion Findings suggest that ALP and JLP can present different clinical courses and histopathological features. There was a higher degree of LP severity in JLP.