Techniques for precancerous lesion diagnosis

The development of the oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is a multistep process that requires the accumulation of multiple genetic alterations usually preceded by detectable mucosal changes, most often leukoplakias and erythroplakias. The clinical appearance of oral precancerous lesions and their degree of epithelium dysplasia suggests the malignization potential. Several techniques have been developed to improve the clinical and cytological diagnosis of oral precancerous lesions. The present paper reviews the main techniques used to improve premalignant lesion diagnosis.