Oral exfoliative cytology: review of methods of assessment

The use of oral exfoliative cytology in clinical practice declined due to the subjective nature of its interpretation and because there may be only a small number of abnormal cells identifiable in a smear. The more recent application of quantitative techniques, together with advances in immunocytochemistry, have refined the potential role of cytology, stimulating a reappraisal of its value in the diagnosis of oral cancer. This review considers the influence of the quantitative analysis of cytomorphology, DNA analysis and other tumour markers applied to oral exfoliative cytological samples. These studies indicate that oral cytology may provide an important adjunct in the assessment of the patient with a potentially cancerous oral lesion.