Correlation Between Histological Grading and Ploidy Status in Oral Leukoplakia, Oral Submucous Fibrosis, and Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma: A Flow Cytometric Analysis

BACKGROUND: Methods to analyze progression of carcinogenesis and stage of cancer are vital nowadays due to the high prevalence of these lesions. DNA ploidy analysis is one such important method in early diagnosis and improving prognosis. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to correlate histopathological grading and DNA ploidy in oral leukoplakia, oral submucous fibrosis (OSMF), and oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) cases. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Our study included 80 subjects, grouped into 4 groups of 20 each of OSCC, leukoplakia, OSMF, and healthy individuals. Histopathological grading was carried out in study cases, DNA ploidy was estimated using flow cytometry, and both the findings were correlated. RESULTS: Among the 20 cases of leukoplakia group, 6 cases showed aneuploidy and 14 showed diploidy. In the 20 cases of OSF group, 2 cases showed aneuploidy and 18 showed diploidy, and in the 20 cases of OSCC group, 10 showed aneuploidy and 10 showed diploidy. Most of the aneuploidy cases showed severe dysplasia. CONCLUSION: Analysis of DNA ploidy status can serve as a diagnostic tool for early detection of malignancies owing to the subjective nature of traditional histopathological grading.