DNA Image Cytometry for Screening the Carcinogenetic Risk of Oral Potential Malignant Disorders.

Oral Submucosal Fibrosis (OSF) and Oral Leukoplakia (OLK) are well-known oral potentially malignant disorders, and cases of Oral Submucosal Fibrosis concomitant Oral Leukoplakia (OSF+OLK) are now being reported clinically. DNA image cytometry is an objective and non-invasive method for monitoring the risk of precancerous lesions in the oral cavity. A total of 111 patients with clinically characterized oral mucosal lesions underwent simultaneous and independent histopathological and DNA imaging cytometry assessments. Clinical data were also collected for each patient. The frequency of DNA content abnormality was higher in the tongue than in other oral sites (P = 0.003) for OLK. The frequency of DNA content abnormality was higher in the tongue than in other oral sites (P = 0.035) for OSF+OLK. The differences of DNA content abnormality in age, sex, dietary habit, smoking, and alcohol intake were not observed in OLK and OSF+OLK. The study indicates an association between DNA content abnormality and pathological examination in OSF+OLK ( χ test, P = 0.007). OLK showed higher sensitivity and specificity than OSF, while the sensitivity and specificity of OSF+OLK are higher than OLK only and OSF only. DNA image cytometry can be utilized as an adjunctive device for the initial detection of oral potentially malignant disorders that require further clinical management.