Cytomorphometric analysis of oral squames Tobacco Smoker’s using oral brush biopsy: An exfoliative cytological study

Background: Tobacco is mostly regarded as one of the primary etiologic factor in causing oral cancer. Literature quotes studies have depicted the alteration of nuclear (NA) and cytoplasmic area (CA) induced by tobacco smoking and chewing. Also some authors have stressed on quantifying the role of cytomorphometric analysis in analysing these cellular alterations. Therefore, we evaluated the cytological and cytomorphometric changes in the oral squames using brush biopsy from buccal mucosa of tobacco users. Materials and methods: 200 patients of age group of 40-65 years attending the hospital OPD with history of smoking were included in the study. The patients were broadly divided into two groups; smokers (n=150) and Non-smokers (n=50). The cytological samples were taken from clinically normal appearing oral mucosa, stained and analysed using Image analysing software. Independent-Samples T Test and One-Way ANOVA were used to assess the level of significance. Results: significant increase in Mean NA was observed in smokers as compared to non-smokers. Also, Mean CA decreased in smoker’s group as compared to non-smokers. Likewise, N/C ratio was found to be significantly elevated in smokers group. Cytomorphometric parameter changes showed significant alteration with increasing duration of smoking. Conclusion: Cytomorhometric analysis can be used to analyse the alterations occurring in cellular and nuclear level.