The utility of optical instrument “ORALOOK®” in the early detection of high-risk oral mucosal lesions

Abstract

Background/Aim: Oral cancer screening is important for early detection and early treatment, which help improve survival rates. Biopsy is invasive and painful, while fluorescence visualization is non-invasive, convenient, and real-time, and examinations can be repeated using optical instruments. The purpose of this study was to clarify the usefulness of an optical instrument in oral screening. Patients and Methods: A total of 201 patients, who were examined using an optical instrument in our Department between 2017 and 2018, were enrolled in this study. Fluorescence visualization images were analyzed using subjective and objective evaluations. Results: Subjective evaluations for detecting oral cancer and oral epithelial dysplasia offered 83.3% sensitivity and 75.7% specificity. Regarding the objective evaluations for detecting oral cancer and oral epithelial dysplasia, sensitivity and specificity were 47.4% and 72.4% for luminance value, 94.7% and 79.6% for luminance ratio, and 100.0% and 68.0% coefficient of variation. Conclusion: Fluorescence visualization using optical instruments is useful for oral cancer screening.