Ss. Desai et al., CYTOGENETIC DAMAGE IN EXFOLIATED ORAL MUCOSAL CELLS AND CIRCULATING LYMPHOCYTES OF PATIENTS SUFFERING FROM PRECANCEROUS ORAL LESIONS, Cancer letters, 109(1-2), 1996, pp. 9-14
One hundred patients suffering from oral submucous fibrosis (OSF), ora
l leukoplakia (OL) and oral lichen planus (OLP) were studied for the c
ytogenetic damage in oral mucosal cells and in circulating lymphocytes
along with their habit patterns. It was observed that OSF was largely
associated with betel nut containing masticants while OL was associat
ed with chewing or smoking habit. It was further observed that their e
xfoliated oral mucosal cells had significantly higher numbers of micro
nucleated (Mn) cells as compared to those of healthy normal subjects w
ithout any chewing or smoking habit. Similar cytogenetic damage in the
form of increased sister chromatid exchanges (SCE) was observed in ci
rculating lymphocytes indicating that the carcinogenic agents produce
damage not only in target tissue but also in other host cells such as
circulating lymphocytes.