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Review
. 2006 Mar 23:5:11.
doi: 10.1186/1476-4598-5-11.

Application of cytology and molecular biology in diagnosing premalignant or malignant oral lesions

Ravi Mehrotra  1 , Anurag Gupta, Mamta Singh, Rahela Ibrahim
Affiliations
Review

Application of cytology and molecular biology in diagnosing premalignant or malignant oral lesions

Ravi Mehrotra et al. Mol Cancer. .

Retraction in

Abstract

Early detection of a premalignant or cancerous oral lesion promises to improve the survival and the morbidity of patients suffering from these conditions. Cytological study of oral cells is a non-aggressive technique that is well accepted by the patient, and is therefore an attractive option for the early diagnosis of oral cancer, including epithelial atypia and squamous cell carcinoma. However its usage has been limited so far due to poor sensitivity and specificity in diagnosing oral malignancies. Lately it has re-emerged due to improved methods and it's application in oral precancer and cancer as a diagnostic and predictive method as well as for monitoring patients. Newer diagnostic techniques such as "brush biopsy" and molecular studies have been developed. Recent advances in cytological techniques and novel aspects of applications of scraped or exfoliative cytology for detecting these lesions and predicting their progression or recurrence are reviewed here.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Clinical picture of a patient with oral submucous fibrosis of lower lip
Figure 2
Figure 2
Clinical picture of a patient with dysplasia of lower lip showing positive toluidine blue staining.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Technique of brush biopsy emphasizing pin-point bleeding of the oral mucosa.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Picture demonstrating spreading of brush biopsy sample on a slide.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Photomicrograph of a brush biopsy specimen from oral submucousfibrosis showing anucleated hyperkeratinized cells and a superficial squamous cell. (H & E × 400).
Figure 6
Figure 6
Photomicrograph of a oral brush biopsy specimen from a patient of squamous cell carcinoma buccal mucosa showing a binucleated cell with evidence of intracellular and extracellular keratinization in a inflammatory background. (H & E × 400).
Figure 7
Figure 7
Photomicrograph of a oral brush biopsy specimen from a patient of squamous cell carcinoma of buccal mucosa with high nucleo-cytoplasmic ratio marked atypia, and coarsely granular chromatin in a necrotic background .(Modified pap × 1000).
Figure 8
Figure 8
Photomicrograph of a oral brush biopsy specimen from a patient of squamous cell carcinoma of buccal mucosa with high nucleo-cytoplasmic ratio coarsely granular chromatin and a multinucleated cell showing evidence of vascular invasion. (H&E × 1000).
Figure 9
Figure 9
Photomicrograph of malignant cells after radiation therapy showing multinucleation and micronucleation. (H&E × 1000).
Figure 10
Figure 10
Photomicrograph of malignant cells after radiation therapy showing multiple nuclear budding. (H&E × 1000).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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