Abstract
Objectives : The purpose of this study was to clarify histopathological and cytological analyses of oral leukoplakia.
Study Design : The materials were cytological and histological specimens from 137 cases, which were clinically diagnosed as “oral leukoplakia” .
Results : The histopathological findings revealed 75 examples of hyperkeratosis (54.7%), 44 of dysplasia (32.1%) and 18 of squamous cell carcinoma (SCC, 13.1%). The cytological findings revealed suspected positivity in 45.5% (20/44 cases) in the dysplasia group, and 16.7% (3/18 cases) were confirmed as positive in the SCC group. The total number of cases confirmed as positive and suspected as being positive in the SCC group was 77.8% (14/18 cases). Eighteen cases with definitely diagnosed SCC were the histologically atrophic epithelium type (61.1%, 11/18 cases), hyperkeratotic epithelium type (16.7%, 3/18 cases), verrucous carcinoma (11.1%, 2/18 cases) and carcinoma cuniculatum (11.1%, 2/18 cases). The cytological findings in all cases of leukoplakia showed a scant cell number with scattered keratinized squamous cells. As for the dysplasia and SCC cases, cells with thickened and stained bright orange cytoplasm showed an irregular nuclear border and rough chromatin patterns under higher magnification.
Conclusion : To improve the accuracy of cytological analysis of leukoplakia, it is necessary for us to understand the variegated histological findings, and to improve the cell collection technology.
