Nuclear DNA content and morphometric characteristics of normal, premalignant and malignant oral smears

Three methods of DNA content assessment providing both rare-event and population features were applied to forty eight Feulgen-stained oral smears collected from twenty patients. The smears were collected from three sites and diagnosed either clinically as normal, or histologically as premalignant or malignant. Cell morphometry features were also measured from Papanicolaou-stained smears from each site. The three methods of DNA content assessment could distinguish clearly between normal and abnormal smears, but not between premalignant and malignant smears within the abnormal group. However discrimination could be obtained between these subgroups using cytoplasmic area. The results therefore suggest that a combination of DNA content and morphometric measurement of oral smears can give a useful method for detecting and localising premalignant and malignant conditions.