Stefânia Jeronimo Ferreira1, Maria Ângela Naval Machado2, Antônio Adilson Soares de Lima3, Aline Cristina Batista Rodrigues Johann4, Ana Maria Trindade Grégio5, Luciana Reis Azevedo-Alanis6. 1. Graduate Program in Dentistry, School of Health and Biosciences, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Paraná, Rua Imaculada Conceição, 1155, Curitiba, Pr 80215-901, Brazil. Electronic address: s.j.f_1985@hotmail.com. 2. School of Dentistry, Federal University of Paraná, Curitiba, Pr, Brazil. Electronic address: man.machado@ufpr.br. 3. School of Dentistry, Federal University of Paraná, Curitiba, Pr, Brazil. Electronic address: antollima@hotmail.com. 4. Graduate Program in Dentistry, School of Health and Biosciences, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Paraná, Rua Imaculada Conceição, 1155, Curitiba, Pr 80215-901, Brazil. Electronic address: aline.johann@pucpr.br. 5. Graduate Program in Dentistry, School of Health and Biosciences, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Paraná, Rua Imaculada Conceição, 1155, Curitiba, Pr 80215-901, Brazil. Electronic address: ana.gregio@pucpr.br. 6. Graduate Program in Dentistry, School of Health and Biosciences, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Paraná, Rua Imaculada Conceição, 1155, Curitiba, Pr 80215-901, Brazil. Electronic address: l.azevedo@pucpr.br.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate cytopathological changes in epithelial cells of the oral mucosa of patients with oral lichen planus (OLP) compared with patients without OLP. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Swabs were collected from the oral mucosa of 20 patients with OLP (case group) and 20 patients without OLP (control group) using liquid-based cytology. After Papanicolaou staining, the smears were characterized based on Papanicolaou classification and degree of maturation. Nuclear area (NA) measurements, cytoplasmic area (CA) measurements, and the NA/CA ratio were determined from 50 epithelial cells per slide. For quantification of argyrophilic nucleolar organizer regions (AgNORs), the smears were stained with silver nitrate, and the number of AgNORs was counted in 100 cells. RESULTS: In both groups, there was a predominance of Papanicolaou Class I nucleated cells in the superficial layer. The average values of NA (p>0.05) and CA (p=0.000) were greater in the case group (NA=521.6, CA=22,750.3) compared with the control group (NA=518.9, CA=18,348.0). The NA/CA ratio was 0.025 for the case group and 0.031 for the control group (p=0.004). There was no significant difference between the mean AgNORs values of both groups (p>0.05). CONCLUSION: The oral mucosa of patients with OLP exhibited significant cytomorphometric changes. However, there was no evidence of malignancy.
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate cytopathological changes in epithelial cells of the oral mucosa of patients with oral lichen planus (OLP) compared with patients without OLP. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Swabs were collected from the oral mucosa of 20 patients with OLP (case group) and 20 patients without OLP (control group) using liquid-based cytology. After Papanicolaou staining, the smears were characterized based on Papanicolaou classification and degree of maturation. Nuclear area (NA) measurements, cytoplasmic area (CA) measurements, and the NA/CA ratio were determined from 50 epithelial cells per slide. For quantification of argyrophilic nucleolar organizer regions (AgNORs), the smears were stained with silver nitrate, and the number of AgNORs was counted in 100 cells. RESULTS: In both groups, there was a predominance of Papanicolaou Class I nucleated cells in the superficial layer. The average values of NA (p>0.05) and CA (p=0.000) were greater in the case group (NA=521.6, CA=22,750.3) compared with the control group (NA=518.9, CA=18,348.0). The NA/CA ratio was 0.025 for the case group and 0.031 for the control group (p=0.004). There was no significant difference between the mean AgNORs values of both groups (p>0.05). CONCLUSION: The oral mucosa of patients with OLP exhibited significant cytomorphometric changes. However, there was no evidence of malignancy.