Comparison of planimetry and image analysis for the discrimination between normal and abnormal cells in cytological smears of suspicious lesions of the oral cavity.

Light microscope analysis of cytological smears of suspicious lesions of the oral cavity is used as a method for detecting early cancer in the oral cavity. The sensitivity of this approach can be improved by quantitative analysis of the cells in the cytological smears. We have compared the efficiency of planimetry and the Vids V system of image analysis, as quantitative methods for discriminating between normal and abnormal cells in cytological smears of suspicious lesions in the oral cavity. Both methods detected an increase in nuclear area and a decrease in cytoplasmic area in abnormal epithelial cells from dysplastic lesions of increasing severity. However, image analysis was better able to discriminate between benign and malignant cells on the basis of nuclear size. Thus the Vids V system of image analysis is more appropriate than planimetry for quantitative analysis of cytological smears from the oral cavity.