Evaluation of diagnostic reliability of micronuclei in potentially malignant disorders of oral cavity

Context: Micronucleus (MN) has been proved to be an important biomarker of genomic damage. MN scoring in oral exfoliated epithelial cells has been used in the past as a biomarker to identify different preneoplastic conditions much earlier than the manifestations of clinical features. However, no attention has been, until now, given to determine the overall accuracy of MN assay in diagnosing potentially malignant disorders (PMDs). Aim: The present study was being conducted to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of MN assay in PMDs of oral cavity. Materials and Methods: Cytosmears from 30 controls with healthy mucosa and 45 cases as patients with suspicious lesions, clinically diagnosed as PMDs of the oral cavity were taken and separately stained with Papanicolaou (Pap) stain and haematoxylin and eosin (H and E) stain. MN frequency was evaluated and based on the 50 th percentile of all the MN (%) frequency values obtained for both the groups combined; a cut off value was calculated independently for each stain. Results: The sensitivity and specificity with Pap stain was found to be 84% and 93%, respectively, with diagnostic accuracy of 88%, whereas with H and E stain, sensitivity of 89% and specificity of 100% with diagnostic accuracy of 93% was observed. Conclusion: MN assay in oral exfoliated epithelial cells can be conveniently used as a biomarker for the screening of PMDs of oral cavity