Morphometric Analysis of Suprabasal Cell Layer in Oral Epithelial Dysplasia: A Computer-assisted Microscopic Study

Area of Science:

• Oral pathology
• Histopathology
• Digital pathology

Background:

• Oral leukoplakia is a common precancerous lesion requiring accurate grading of epithelial dysplasia.
• Histological grading systems for dysplasia have limitations due to inter- and intraobserver variability.
• Computer-assisted morphometric analysis offers a potential solution to improve grading consistency.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate morphometric changes in the suprabasal cell layer of oral epithelial dysplasia.
• To evaluate the utility of computer-assisted analysis in differentiating dysplasia grades.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of 40 paraffin-embedded oral tissue sections (10 normal, 10 mild, 10 moderate, 10 severe dysplasia).
• Hematoxylin and eosin staining followed by cellular and nuclear morphometry using a binocular microscope.
• Assessment of nuclear area, perimeter, volume density, N/C ratio, diameter, cellular area, and nuclear form factor.

Main Results:

• Significant increases in nuclear area, perimeter, volume density, and N/C ratio were observed with increasing dysplasia grade (P=0.001).
• Nuclear diameter and cellular area also increased significantly in dysplastic tissues compared to controls (P=0.001).
• Nuclear form factor showed variations, decreasing in mild/moderate dysplasia and peaking in severe dysplasia, correlating with histological grading.

Conclusions:

• Nuclear morphometric parameters show a gradual change corresponding to the grade of oral epithelial dysplasia.
• Morphometric analysis of nuclear features is a reliable method for differentiating oral epithelial dysplasia grades.
• This approach can aid in reducing diagnostic variability and improving the management of oral precancerous lesions.