Contact endoscopy as a novel technique in the detection and diagnosis of oral cavity and oropharyngeal mucosal lesions in the head and neck.
OBJECTIVE
We aimed to investigate the diagnostic accuracy of contact endoscopy in evaluating oral and oropharyngeal mucosal lesions.


METHODS
Between January 2010 and December 2011, 34 patients with lesions of the oral and oropharyngeal mucosa were enrolled in the study. Comparison between initial contact endoscopy results and 'gold standard' tissue biopsy was undertaken.


RESULTS
Nine patients had histologically confirmed squamous cell carcinoma, 2 had carcinoma in situ, 3 had dysplastic lesions and 20 patients had various benign lesions. Contact endoscopy demonstrated sensitivity and specificity of 89 and 100 per cent respectively in the evaluation of malignant lesions. Benign lesions were correctly categorised in 50 per cent of cases (10/20). The video images from contact endoscopy could not be interpreted in six cases.


CONCLUSIONS
Contact endoscopy demonstrates high sensitivity and specificity in the imaging of malignant lesions with reduced reliability in the evaluation of benign lesions. Significant shortcomings also exist in the design of current technology that we believe represent a significant barrier to the reliable collection of useful video data.
Department of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, Victoria Hospital, Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, London, Ontario, Canada.
S
S
Dowthwaite
Department of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, Victoria Hospital, Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, London, Ontario, Canada.
C
C
Szeto
Department of Pathology, Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada.
B
B
Wehrli
Department of Pathology, Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada.
T
T
Daley
Division of Head and Neck Oncology, Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, Fremantle Hospital and Health Service, Perth, Western Australia.
F
F
Whelan
Department of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, Victoria Hospital, Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, London, Ontario, Canada.
J
J
Franklin
Department of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, Victoria Hospital, Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, London, Ontario, Canada.
A
A
Nichols
Department of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, Victoria Hospital, Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, London, Ontario, Canada.
J
J
Yoo
Department of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, Victoria Hospital, Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, London, Ontario, Canada.
K
K
Fung
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001706:Biopsy / Q000379:methods; D002278:Carcinoma in Situ / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000473:pathology; D004724:Endoscopy / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D006258:Head and Neck Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009062:Mouth Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology; D018307:Neoplasms, Squamous Cell / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000473:pathology; D009959:Oropharyngeal Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity