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Oral Cytology Techniques

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Oral Cytology

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Abstract

A significant proportion of oral squamous cell carcinomas (OSCC) develop from premalignant lesions. Histological examination of tissue remains the gold standard for diagnosis and identification of pre-malignant and malignant oral lesions, but has many disadvantages. Exfoliative cytology is a simple and noninvasive technique which is based on the concept that malignant cells adhere much less to each other and thus are easier to harvest by scraping or brushing a suspicious tissue surface in a relatively atraumatic way.

Various conventional and modern techniques are available now as effective tools in the hands of an oral pathologist. These techniques have different sensitivity and specificity. Amongst these the brush biopsy has emerged as a simple, relatively inexpensive, highly sensitive, risk-free method of screening for cancer and serves as an aid to the clinical examination. The improved accuracy is attributed to the ease in obtaining full transepithelial cellular samples and the evaluation of smears with an image analysis system that has been adapted specifically to detect oral epithelial abnormalities by some workers. Full-thickness sampling (indicated by pinpoint bleeding during procedure is essential if histomorphological evaluation of the collected cells is to yield representative findings. Also the cytobrush was shown to be a more convenient cytologic instrument to the clinician than the wooden tongue depressor for oral exfoliative cytology.

The use of these methodologies underlines the importance of discovering and developing new diagnostic techniques, improving the existing ones and discovering new adjuvant molecular targets for oral non-neoplastic and neoplastic diseases.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pathology, Moti Lal Nehru Medical College, 412/4, MLN Medical College Campus, Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh, India

    Kachnar Varma

  2. TBH Laboratories, Oral & Maxillofacial Pathology, University of the Western Cape, National Health Laboratory Service, Cape Town, South Africa

    Jos Hille & Amir Afrogheh

  3. Institute of Cytology and Preventive Oncology (ICPO), I-7, Sector - 39, Noida, 201301, Uttar Pradesh, India

    Ravi Mehrotra

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  1. Kachnar Varma
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  2. Jos Hille
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  3. Amir Afrogheh
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  4. Ravi Mehrotra
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Correspondence to Kachnar Varma .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Director, I-7, Sector - 39, Institute of Cytology and Preventive Onc, Noida - 201301, Allahabad, 211001, Uttar Pradesh, India

    Ravi Mehrotra

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Varma, K., Hille, J., Afrogheh, A., Mehrotra, R. (2013). Oral Cytology Techniques. In: Mehrotra, R. (eds) Oral Cytology. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-5221-8_3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-5221-8_3

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  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4614-5220-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4614-5221-8

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