Autofluorescence spectroscopy for the in vivo evaluation of oral submucous fibrosis.
OBJECTIVE
The goal of this study was to analyze the autofluorescence spectrum of oral submucous fibrosis (OSF); in order to find out whether the technique is effective for the in vivo detection of OSF and for the early detection of malignant changes in OSF.


BACKGROUND
The feasibility of autofluorescence spectroscopy to detect subtle alterations in tissue architecture and biochemical composition induced by dysplasia and inflammation has been studied in the field of oral oncology. Because early detection and proper treatment of common oral precancerous conditions such as OSF and any malignant transformation are important, autofluorescence spectroscopy was applied to detect OSF in this study.


METHODS
In vivo autofluorescence emission spectra were collected at excitation wavelength of 320 nm from buccal mucosa from patients grouped as normal, OSF, or OSF with malignancy. The emission spectra were recorded and analyzed for variations from normal spectra with respect to spectral profile and intensity.


RESULTS
The emission spectrum of OSF had a significantly higher emission peak around 380 nm and 460 nm when compared with the normal mucosal spectrum. The carcinoma spectrum also had two peaks around 380 and 460 nm regions with reduced intensity. The spectrum of carcinoma in OSF was significantly different from spectrum of carcinoma arising from otherwise normal mucosa and also from the spectrum of normal mucosa. The difference in spectral intensities between normal, OSF, and carcinoma in OSF was found to be highly significant (p < 0.001).


CONCLUSIONS
Autofluorescence spectroscopy has been proved to be a promising technique that can successfully differentiate precancerous and cancerous changes from normal mucosa. The spectra from each group studied (normal mucosa, OSF, and OSF with carcinoma) showed distinct features that made it possible to differentiate OSF from normal mucosa and also to detect malignant changes in OSF noninvasively and in real time.
Haris
P S
PS
Department of Oral Medicine and Radiology, Government Dental College, Trivandrum, Kerala, India.
Balan
Anita
A
Jayasree
R S
RS
Gupta
A K
AK
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001706:Biopsy; D055088:Early Detection of Cancer; D005355:Fibrosis / Q000175:diagnosis; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D009061:Mouth Mucosa / Q000473:pathology*; D009062:Mouth Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology; D011230:Precancerous Conditions / Q000175:diagnosis*; D013050:Spectrometry, Fluorescence; D055815:Young Adult