Noninvasive Imaging Methods to Improve the Diagnosis of Oral Carcinoma and Its Precursors: State of the Art and Proposal of a Three-Step Diagnostic Process

Overview

Journal Cancers (Basel)

Publisher MDPI

Specialty Oncology

Date 2021 Jul 2

PMID 34201237

Citations 29

Authors

Antonio Romano

Dario Di Stasio

Massimo Petruzzi

Fausto Fiori

Carlo Lajolo

Andrea Santarelli

Alberta Lucchese

Rosario Serpico

Maria Contaldo

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is the most prevalent form of cancer of lips and oral cavity, and its diagnostic delay, caused by misdiagnosis at the early stages, is responsible for high mortality ratios. Biopsy and histopathological assessment are the gold standards for OSCC diagnosis, but they are time-consuming, invasive, and do not always enable the patient's compliance, mainly in cases of follow-up with the need for more biopsies. The use of adjunctive noninvasive imaging techniques improves the diagnostic approach, making it faster and better accepted by patients. The present review aims to focus on the most consolidated diagnostic techniques, such as vital staining and tissue autofluorescence, and to report the potential role of some of the most promising innovative techniques, such as narrow-band imaging, high-frequency ultrasounds, optical coherence tomography, and in vivo confocal microscopy. According to their contribution to OSCC diagnosis, an ideal three-step diagnostic procedure is proposed, to make the diagnostic path faster, better, and more accurate.

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