An in vivo cytogenetic analysis of human oral squamous cell carcinoma

BACKGROUND: Oral cancer ranks in the top three of all cancers in India, which accounts for over 30% of all cancers reported in the country. The micronucleus test (MNT) is one of the most widely applied short term tests used in genetic toxicology to evaluate the mutagenicity and carcinogenicity. AIMS: The present study aims at an in vivo cytogenetic analysis of human oral squamous cell carcinoma and to assess the applicability of MNT in diagnosing early detection of oral carcinoma. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Exfoliated scrape smears were collected from the clinically diagnosed 136 patients suffering from oral precancerous and cancerous lesions. The wet fixed smears were stained by adopting Papanicolaou's staining protocol and counter-stained with Giemsa's solution. RESULTS: The frequency of micronucleated cells has been observed to be in increasing order with the increase of the age-groups and from control to precancerous to cancerous cases significantly in both sexes. CONCLUSION: Micronucleus formation in the oral mucosa could be a biomarker of genetic damage and also a potential onco-indicator in the long run of oral carcinogenesis. Therefore, MNT can be applied for the early detection of oral carcinoma in the human being.