Narrow band imaging in oral cancer did not improve visualisation of the tumour borders: a prospective cohort study

Olof Nilsson ^1,2, Mathias von Beckerath ^2,3,4, Johan Knutsson ^2,5,6

⁰Department of Otolaryngology, Örebro University Hospital, Örebro, Sweden.

Acta Oto-Laryngologica +

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November 12, 2024

View abstract on PubMed

Summary

Narrow-band imaging (NBI) did not better define oral cancer tumor borders compared to white light (WL) in this study. Further research is needed to explore NBI

Area Of Science

Oncology
Medical Imaging
Endoscopy

Background

White light (WL) is standard for defining oral cancer tumor borders.
Narrow-band imaging (NBI) is an optical endoscopic technique used for other cancers but lacks sufficient evidence for oral cancers.
The efficacy of NBI in delineating oral cancer mucosal borders requires further investigation.

Purpose Of The Study

To determine if NBI is a superior predictor of true mucosal tumor borders in oral cancers compared to WL.
To assess the concordance between NBI-based Takano intrapapillary capillary loop classifications and histopathological findings.

Main Methods

A prospective study involving 34 oral cancer patients.
Tumor borders were assessed using both NBI and WL during surgical resection.
Pathology reports served as the gold standard for comparison.

Main Results

NBI identified tumor borders outside WL-defined borders in 26.5% of assessments.
However, 55.5% of these NBI-identified borders were false positives.
The study included 34 participants after data exclusion.

Conclusions

NBI did not demonstrate superior accuracy in delineating mucosal tumor borders of oral cancers compared to WL.
Methodological limitations may have impacted the study's findings.
Further research is warranted to clarify the role of NBI in oral cancer management.

Keywords:

Margins narrow-band imaging oral cancer tumour borders white light