title: Use of electrical impedance spectroscopy to detect malignant and potentially malignant oral lesions.
abstract: The electrical properties of tissues depend on their architecture and cellular composition. We have previously shown that changes in electrical impedance can be used to differentiate between different degrees of cervical dysplasia and cancer of the cervix. In this proof-of-concept study, we aimed to determine whether electrical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) could distinguish between normal oral mucosa; benign, potentially malignant lesions (PML); and oral cancer. EIS data were collected from oral cancer (n=10), PML (n=27), and benign (n=10) lesions. EIS from lesions was compared with the EIS reading from the normal mucosa on the contralateral side of the mouth or with reference spectra from mucosal sites of control subjects (n=51). Healthy controls displayed significant differences in the EIS obtained from different oral sites. In addition, there were significant differences in the EIS of cancer and high-risk PML versus low-risk PML and controls. There was no significant difference between benign lesions and normal controls. Study subjects also deemed the EIS procedure considerably less painful and more convenient than the scalpel biopsy procedure. EIS shows promise at distinguishing among malignant, PML, and normal oral mucosa and has the potential to be developed into a clinical diagnostic tool.
authors.affiliation: Unit of Oral and Maxillofacial Medicine and Surgery, University of Sheffield School of Clinical Dentistry, Sheffield, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Craig
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Murdoch
authors.affiliation: University of Sheffield Medical School, Beech Hill Road, Sheffield, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Brian H
authors.initials: BH
authors.lastname: Brown
authors.affiliation: Unit of Oral and Maxillofacial Medicine and Surgery, University of Sheffield School of Clinical Dentistry, Sheffield, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Vanessa
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Hearnden
authors.affiliation: Unit of Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology, University of Sheffield School of Clinical Dentistry, Sheffield, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Paul M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Speight
authors.affiliation: Unit of Oral and Maxillofacial Medicine and Surgery, University of Sheffield School of Clinical Dentistry, Sheffield, United Kingdom ; Unit of Oral Medicine, Charles Clifford Dental Hospital, Sheffield Teaching Hospitals National Health Service Foundation Trust, Sheffield, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Katy
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: D'Apice
authors.affiliation: Unit of Oral Medicine, Charles Clifford Dental Hospital, Sheffield Teaching Hospitals National Health Service Foundation Trust, Sheffield, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Anne M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Hegarty
authors.affiliation: Department of Gynaecological Oncology, Royal Hallamshire Hospital, Sheffield, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: John A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Tidy
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Physics, Royal Hallamshire Hospital, Sheffield, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: T Jamie
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Healey
authors.affiliation: Zilico Ltd., The MedTECH Centre, Rutherford House, Manchester Science Park, Manchester, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Peter E
authors.initials: PE
authors.lastname: Highfield
authors.affiliation: Unit of Oral and Maxillofacial Medicine and Surgery, University of Sheffield School of Clinical Dentistry, Sheffield, United Kingdom ; Unit of Oral Medicine, Charles Clifford Dental Hospital, Sheffield Teaching Hospitals National Health Service Foundation Trust, Sheffield, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Martin H
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Thornhill
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D058266:Dielectric Spectroscopy / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009061:Mouth Mucosa / Q000473:pathology*; D009062:Mouth Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology*; D012372:ROC Curve; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: dysplasia; head and neck cancer; impedance spectroscopy; oral cancer; potentially malignant lesions