Diagnostic Reliability of Methylene Blue in Vivo Staining in Predicting Oral Premalignant and Malignant Lesions with Scrape Cytology and Histopathological Correlation

Background and aim: To correlate the clinical diagnosis of the suspected lesions of oral cavity using methylene blue stain, histopathological and cytopathological methods.Material and Methods: The study has been carried out in the Pathology department for a period of 1.5 years. The study includes in vivo application of methylene blue stain to clinically suspected premalignant and malignant lesions of oral cavity, followed by scrape cytology from the same site followed by its histopathological examination among 100 subjects which includes 60 cases and 40 controls. Scrape smear was collected from all the 100 subjects. Biopsy was done in 48 cases out of 60 cases.Results: Out of 48 cases, maximum lesions were found to be malignant (71%), followed by premalignant (17%) oral lesions. Benign lesions were found in male patients only and malignant lesions (80%) and premalignant lesions (75%) were found in majority of males. Majority of patients (70%) had Well differentiated Squamous cell carcinoma, followed by 24% of patients having Moderately differentiated Squamous cell carcinoma.Conclusions: The current study shows that majority of patients presented with carcinoma and very few at premalignant stage. There is prevalence of habits of tobacco chewing/smoking betel nut in India which are carcinogenic. So, the present study focused on highlighting the importance of screening of oral lesions to diagnose the oral lesions at early stage for its timely treatment and to improve the quality of life. In vivo methylene blue staining is simple, easy to perform, noninvasive, rapid, painless, inexpensive method.