Exfoliative cytology in screening for malignant and premalignant lesions in the buccal mucosa.

OBJECTIVE

To test the efficacy of exfoliative cytology in the detection of oral premalignant and malignant lesions.

DESIGN

Cytological diagnosis of lesions of the buccal mucosa assessed using histopathological diagnosis of the same lesions as the gold standard.

SUBJECTS

Patients with buccal lesions clinically diagnosed as leukoplakia (n = 91) and squamous cell carcinoma (SCC, n = 59), and healthy subjects (n = 40) in whom buccal mucosa appeared clinically normal.

SETTING

Oral and Maxillo-facial Unit, General Hospital, Kandy and Department of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Peradeniya.

RESULTS

A sensitivity of 77%, specificity of 100% and accuracy of 92% were obtained for leukoplakia. SCC gave a sensitivity of 94%, specificity of 100% and an accuracy of 95%.

CONCLUSIONS

Oral exfoliative cytology is a useful method for detecting oral premalignant and malignant lesions. Anucleated squames in a smear is non-diagnostic.