Histologic evaluation of effect of thiocyanate topical application on hamster cheek pouch

The present study was conducted to investigate the effect of topical thiocyanate (SCN(-)) application on hamster cheek pouch mucosa. Sixty-six hamsters were divided into two groups. The test substance containing potassium thiocyanate was applied on the hamsters' cheek pouches at 55 mg/kg dosages. Cheek pouches were grossly examined after 12 weeks. Histometric evaluation included height measurements from the epithelium without stratum corneum, stratum corneum, and full epithelium. Clear cells frequency was compared between groups. Results were analyzed using Student's t test. The experimental group showed a lower height of the stratum corneum (p=0.035) and higher frequency of clear cells (p<0.001). There was no height difference for the epithelium without stratum corneum (p=0.677) and full epithelium (p=0.904) between groups. SCN(-) promotes no gross alterations on hamsters' cheek pouch and does not induce dysplastic features at the epithelium or inflammation at the connective tissue. The ion promotes histologic alterations on mucosa that need to be investigated in further studies.