NUCLEAR-DNA CONTENT AND MORPHOMETRIC CHARACTERISTICS OF NORMAL, PREMALIGNANT AND MALIGNANT ORAL SMEARS

Three methods of DNA content assessment providing both rare-event and population features were applied to forty eight Feulgen-stained oral s mears collected from twenty patients. The smears were collected from t hree sites and diagnosed either clinically as normal, or histologicall y as premalignant or malignant. Cell morphometry features were also me asured from Papanicolaou-stained smears from each site. The three meth ods of DNA content assessment could distinguish clearly between normal and abnormal smears, but not between premalignant and malignant smear s within the abnormal group. However discrimination could be obtained between these subgroups using cytoplasmic area. The results therefore suggest that a combination of DNA content and morphometric measurement of oral smears can give a useful method for detecting and localising premalignant and malignant conditions.