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World J Exp Med. Mar 20, 2026; 16(1): 114526
Published online Mar 20, 2026. doi: 10.5493/wjem.v16.i1.114526
Published online Mar 20, 2026. doi: 10.5493/wjem.v16.i1.114526
Leukoplakia of oral cavity and urinary bladder are premalignant to squamous carcinoma
Mohamed Wishahi, Department of Urology, Theodor Bilharz Research Institute, Cairo 12411, Egypt
Author contributions: Wishahi M initiated the concept, wrote the original manuscript, and made the final revision.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The author declares that he has no conflict of interest to disclose.
Corresponding author: Mohamed Wishahi, MD, PhD, Professor, Department of Urology, Theodor Bilharz Research Institute, Embaba, Giza, Cairo 12411, Egypt.
Received: September 22, 2025
Revised: November 6, 2025
Accepted: December 29, 2025
Published online: March 20, 2026
Processing time: 174 Days and 10.4 Hours
Revised: November 6, 2025
Accepted: December 29, 2025
Published online: March 20, 2026
Processing time: 174 Days and 10.4 Hours
Core Tip
Core Tip: Oral leukoplakia and urinary bladder leukoplakia are premalignant lesions that progress to squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), both lesions and their corresponding SCC express programmed cell death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) indicating response to PD-L1 inhibitors. A recent approach with consideration of recent finding of expression of PD-L1, genetic analysis, microenvironment landscape, recruited clinical trials, and animal model studies would advocate possible treatment of oral leukoplakia with PD-L1 inhibitors aiming at cure and prevent progression to SCC.