Research Center of Biochemistry and Advanced Molecular Biology, Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, "Magna Graecia" University of Catanzaro, Catanzaro, Italy.
Department of Health Sciences, "Magna Graecia" University of Catanzaro, Catanzaro, Italy.
Oral Dis. 2021 Mar;27(2):193-203. doi: 10.1111/odi.13525. Epub 2020 Aug 3.
Autofluorescence is considered a useful technique in the early detection of oral mucosal alterations. However, its efficacy to discriminate tumor margins is still under debate. The purpose of this pilot study was to confirm the existence of molecular divergence from the center of a lesion compared to white light and autofluorescence (VELscope ) visualized margins in leukoplakia and oral carcinoma.
Molecular divergence from the center of the lesion to white light and VELscope defined margins was compared in patients with leukoplakia (n = 3) and oral carcinoma (n = 4). Expression profiling of 45 selected genes was performed through custom-made TaqMan arrays. Gene Ontology was used for biological pathway analysis.
Irrespective of pathology, the greatest molecular divergence existed between the center of the lesion and both white light and VELscope margins. VELscope and white light margins were also molecularly distinct in oral carcinoma samples. Indeed, the white light margin retained molecular abnormalities observed in the center of the lesion thus suggesting the existence of a "partially transformed" cell population.
Despite the limited low number of patients, our data confirm the benefit of combining autofluorescence with conventional oral examination in identifying surgical margins during biopsy procedures for leukoplakia and oral carcinoma.
自发荧光被认为是早期检测口腔黏膜改变的有用技术。然而，其区分肿瘤边缘的效果仍存在争议。本初步研究的目的是确认与白光和自发荧光（VELscope）相比，病变中心的分子差异是否存在于白斑和口腔癌的边界。
在患有白斑的患者（n=3）和口腔癌患者（n=4）中，比较了病变中心与白光和 VELscope 定义的边界之间的分子差异。通过定制的 TaqMan 阵列进行了 45 个选定基因的表达谱分析。使用基因本体论进行了生物学途径分析。
无论病理如何，病变中心与白光和 VELscope 边界之间的分子差异最大。在口腔癌样本中，VELscope 和白光边界在分子上也有区别。事实上，白光边界保留了在病变中心观察到的分子异常，这表明存在“部分转化”的细胞群体。
尽管患者数量有限，但我们的数据证实了在白斑和口腔癌的活检过程中，将自发荧光与常规口腔检查相结合以识别手术边界的益处。
