title: [Comparison of in vivo confocal microscopic and histopathological findings in limbal tumors].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To explore the depth of invasion of limbal tumors using in vivo confocal microscope and to compare the result to that in histopathological findings.
  
  
  METHODS
  Five cases of limbal tumors with clinical diagnosis of squamous cell carcinoma were evaluated with in vivo confocal microscope. Tumor excision and lamella corneal transplantation were performed for each patient. The results of confocal microscopy were compared to that in histopathologic sections.
  
  
  RESULTS
  One case of invasive squamous carcinoma, three cases of intraepithelial dysphasia and one case of squamous papilloma were identified by histopathological examination. The main pathological features could be recognized by confocal microscope images, including papillomatous hyperplasia, cytonuclear atypias, and activation of dendritic cells. Intersection of neoplasm and normal tissue could be displayed by oblique scanning.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  With appropriated oblique scanning, in vivo confocal microscopy can provide information of cellular structure and the depth of invasion, this is useful in the diagnosis and management of limbal neoplasm. However, the identification of tumor cell phenotypes still needs ex vivo histopathological examination.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Xue
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Zhen
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.forename: Feng
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Pei
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Jian-xin
authors.initials: JX
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002278:Carcinoma in Situ / Q000473:pathology; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000473:pathology; D005134:Eye Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D016850:Limbus Corneae / Q000473:pathology*; D008297:Male; D018613:Microscopy, Confocal / Q000379:methods; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies