Cytogenetic monitoring in human oral cancers and other oral pathology: the micronucleus test in exfoliated buccal cells.

Oral cancer is a lifestyle-related cancer, with tobacco as a primary factor. Progression of oral cancer develops over several years from the stage of leukoplakia, erythroplakia, etc. A micronucleus test was applied to oral mucosal cells, considering them as the target site for carcinogens and cytogenetic damage. The test has been established as a reliable biomarker for differential prevalence of MN indices among oral cancers, pre-cancers, non-malignant oral pathologies, and healthy controls for the first time. Buccal scrapings were collected from 63 patients with cancer and pre-cancerous lesions, 42 with non-malignant oral problems, and 100 healthy controls. The analysis revealed that MN frequencies in cancer and pre-cancerous cases were 4-fold elevated (p < 0.001) and 3.87-fold (p < 0.002) elevated for other non-malignant pathologies. Significant associations between use of tobacco in various forms and development of oral pathologies are also established. The relative cancer risk for smoking healthy controls with a definite MN frequency was also found to be significant. The results indicate the validity of the MN test as a cytogenetic marker for the development of several oral pathologies.