As you can see from my signature, my husband was initially diagnosed with moderate dysplasia as well, in late April 2006.

When I discovered this website a week or so later, I asked about leukoplakia. Here's how Brian Hill, OCF founder, responded:
[quote]Leukoplakia is a PRE-cancerous condition that does not always move completely into malignancy. Dysplasia are those cells which are no longer normal, but they are not really malignant yet...an in-between state, so to speak.

Dysplasias also do not always go completely over to the dark side, but they are a step in that direction... and having them removed, or watched very regularly, is prudent.

Dysplastic leukoplakias can often return after surgical removal, many times done with a laser, sometimes via a blade excision. Keep an eye on things even after the removal from now until forever. [/quote](The boldface emphasis is mine.)

In my husband's case, it did turn to the dark side but was caught very, very early. When he was younger he did smoke and drink, but he has not done either for decades and his doctor at Johns Hopkins says he considers my husband in the same "category" of patients who never smoked.

We did not have his slides tested for HPV, as the area excised was on the side of his tongue. From what I have read on this site and elsewhere, oral HPV+ SCC is most common in the base of tongue/tonsil area, not on the mobile tongue. I'll be interested to hear the results of your HPV test.

All the best,
Leslie