title: Oral exfoliative cytology of smokers at discrete clinical stages using AgNOR staining.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This study was designed to evaluate oral exfoliative cytology of smokers without any clinically evident lesion and smokers with leukoplakia or oral cancer using AgNOR staining.
  
  
  METHODS
  Cytological smears of 30 smokers without lesion, 30 smokers with leukoplakia, 30 smokers with oral cancer and 30 non-smokers (control group) were studied using one step silver staining method. The AgNOR count was established on 100 cells. Mean AgNOR count and mean % of cells with 5 or more AgNORs was evaluated. The count values of groups were compared and analysed using Student's unpaired t-test.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The mean AgNOR count for control group was 2.94 +/- 0.325, smokers without lesion 3.79 +/- 0.480 smokers with leukoplakia 3.89 +/- 0.433 and oral cancer 4.96 +/- 0.467. Mean % of cells with 5 or more AgNORs was 11.7, 26.5, 30.2 and 55.8 for control group, smokers without lesion, smokers with leukoplakia and oral cancer respectively.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Analysis of AgNORs suggest that smoking influences proliferative activity in cells of smokers without any clinical lesion and that oral cancer shows highest proliferative activity.
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral Pathology, Govt. Dental College, Rohtak and Ahmedabad, India. drnaturebakshi@indiatimes.com
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Sethi
authors.forename: P M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Shah
mesh_terms: D003581:Cytodiagnosis / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007972:Leukoplakia, Oral / Q000473:pathology*; D008297:Male; D009061:Mouth Mucosa / Q000473:pathology*; D009062:Mouth Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology*; D009697:Nucleolus Organizer Region / Q000473:pathology*; D016622:Silver Staining; D012907:Smoking / Q000473:pathology*