Abstract
Objective : Oral exfoliative cytology, under the guidance of direct visual inspection and palpation, is recognized as a useful and less-invasive examination for the diagnosis of oral squamous cell carcinoma. Recently, it has begun to be applied to Oral Cancer Screening.
Study Design : The subjects of this study were 91 cases who visited the Oral Cancer Center, Tokyo Dental College, between July 2007 and June 2010. Cytology was performed at the first visit, followed by histological diagnosis of oral squamous cell carcinoma. The cytologic findings in relation to the cancer sites and clinical growth patterns were evaluated.
Results : In all, 67.0% of the 91 cases were diagnosed as showing classIV (positive) · V (positive) cytology and 87.9% as showing class I (negative) · II (negative) and III (suspicous of malignancy) cytology (benign and indeterminate, respectively). In regard to the cytology class in relation to the site of origin of the tumor in the oral cavity, the percentages of cases with cancer of the gingiva, buccal mucosa, tongue, floor of the mouth, palate and lip showing classIV (positive) · V (positive) cytology were 56.8%, 57.1%, 73.0%, 87.5%, 100% and 100%, respectively. In regard to the relation with the clinical growth pattern, the percentages of endophytic, exophytic and superficial type cancers showing classIV (positive) · V (positive) cytology were 82.4%, 20.0% and 23.1%, respectively.
Conclusion : The findings of this study serve to emphasize the need to pay attention to cases with suspected squamous cell carcinoma showing classI (negative) · II (negative) · III (suspicous of malignancy) cytology.
