A comparative study for evaluation of Micronuclei in Buccal Cells

Many oral cancers are preceded by clinically evident pre-malignant mucosal changes that give a warning of risk and present an opportunity for detection and preventive measures. The key to diagnosis is the early detection of mucosal changes that may represent disease and not variations of normal. Cytological study of oral cells is a nonaggressive technique that is well accepted by the patient, and is therefore an attractive option for the early diagnosis of potentially malignant lesions. The analysis of micronuclei (MNi) has gained increasing popularity as an in vitro genotoxicity test and a biomarker assay for human genotoxic exposure and effect. It is well established that potentially malignant lesions have got significant number of micronuclei, which can be used in high-risk population as a screening test. Many studies with epithelial cells have been published in the last thirty years. However, only little attention has been, until now, given to the effect of different staining procedures on the results of micronuclei assays.The aim of the present study was to investigate if, and to what extent, different stains have an effect on the results of micronuclei in exfoliated oral muco