Abstract
Early treatment based on early detection is important for good prognosis of oral cancer, which places a heavy responsibility on oral surgeons and dentists because of the strong relation to vital prognosis of patients. However, oral squamous cell carcinoma, the most common cancer of the oral cavity, is frequently difficult to rule out from oral mucosal lesions such as pre-cancerous lesions or conditions, especially in the early phase. Therefore, histological examination (biopsy) is widely known and used as an effective and detailed method for determining the clinical diagnosis. However, it is sometimes difficult to perform a histological examination for cases who have undergone histological examination many times, cases with little possibility of malignancy, or cases with poor general condition. We have used oral cytology (exfoliative cytology) as a helpful diagnostic method to detect oral squamous carcinoma and oral mucosal lesions. Oral cytology is easy to use for early detection for fresh cases before treatment, as well as recurrent cases in the follow-up period. Although much information is gained by cytological findings, it is a safe examination because gathering the cells is minimally invasive.
The authors have already established an examination system for detecting oral mucosal lesions and oral cancers in dental clinics in collaboration with a local dental association. In the present paper, we introduce some cases of early detectable oral cancer by this system, and report on the current situation and efficacy of the system. We also used oral cytology for mass screening for oral cancer, and report a summary of the results.
