Cytologic and DNA‐cytometric very early diagnosis of oral cancer

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Abstract
Background:  The aim of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of exfoliative cytology (EC) and DNA‐image cytometry applied to suspicious oral lesions compared with synchronous histology.Methods:  Brush‐ and scalpel biopsies were obtained from 98 patients with suspicious oral lesions. In cases, in which EC revealed malignant or suspicious cells, nuclear DNA‐contents were measured using a TV image analysis system.Results:  Among 98 oral lesions both cytological and histological diagnosis showed no sign of malignancy or dysplasia in 75. In 23 cases cytology yielded tumor cell‐positive (15), suspicious (four) or doubtful (four) results. DNA‐cytometry showed aneuploidy in 19 of these. The comparison between cytological diagnosis combined with DNA‐cytometry and biopsy‐histology resulted in a sensitivity of 100% and a specificity of 97.4%.Conclusion:  In conclusion, cytology with DNA‐cytometry is a highly sensitive, specific and non‐invasive method for the early diagnosis of oral epithelial neoplasia, showing excellent compliance among patients.