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Updated: Jul 19, 2026
Diagnosis of Neoplasia in Barrett’s Esophagus using Vital-dye Enhanced Fluorescence Imaging
Published on: May 11, 2014
Direct fluorescence visualization of clinically occult high-risk oral premalignant disease using a simple hand-held
Catherine F Poh1, Samson P Ng, P Michele Williams
1BC Cancer Agency, Cancer Control Research Program, Vancouver, British Columbia V5Z 1L3, Canada.
Background:
A considerable proportion of oral cancer and precancer is not clinically apparent and could contribute significantly to the late diagnosis and high mortality of oral cancer. A simple method to identify such occult change is needed.
Methods:
Patients in the Oral Dysplasia Clinics at British Columbia are currently being examined with a simple hand-held device that permits the direct visualization of alterations to autofluorescence in the oral cavity. Tissue showing loss of autofluorescence is biopsied.
Results:
We present 3 representative cases in which occult lesions were identified with fluorescence visualization during longitudinal follow-up, resulting in the diagnosis of a primary dysplasia in case 1, a second primary cancer in case 2, and cancer recurrence in case 3.
Conclusions:
This is the first report of the diagnosis of occult oral disease using a simple noninvasive device. These early examples indicate the potential value of this technology to guide the management of patients with oral lesions, facilitating the detection of high-risk changes not apparent with white-light visualization.
