Efficacy and. Diagnostic Accuracy of Centrifuged Liquid-Based Cytology over Conventional Oral Exfoliative Cytology in Normal Oral Mucosa and Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma: Comparative Study

Background: The five-year survival rate of oral cancer remains 50% or less despite the treatment advances. An effective screening test is necessary for early detection of oral cancer. Aim: To assess the efficacy and diagnostic accuracy of centrifuged liquid-based cytology in comparison to conventional exfoliative cytology in normal oral mucosa and oral squamous cell carcinoma. Materials & Methods: The study population comprised of 40 individuals, equally divided into two groups: healthy individuals and previous histopathologically proven oral squamous cell carcinoma cases. Exfoliative cytology was done and the samples were processed by conventional cytology as well as by centrifuged liquid-based cytology and stained with Papanicolaou stain. Seven cytological parameters were analysed to assess the quality of slides prepared. A cytological diagnosis of the case group was also made and was compared with histopathological diagnosis to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy. Results: The present study revealed statistically significant superior results in all the cytological parameters evaluated by centrifuged liquid-based cytology compared to conventional exfoliative cytology (P <= 0.05). There was an 'almost perfect agreement found between centrifuged liquid-based cytology diagnosis and histopathology (k=0.89) while only a 'substantial agreement' was found between conventional exfoliative cytology with histopathology (k=0.79). Conclusion: The present study summarizes that centrifuged liquid based cytology is more effective than conventional oral exfoliative cytology in screening oral cancer. Further studies with larger sample size in different oral lesions are necessary to validate the use of this cytology technique.