Optical coherence tomography in oral lesions detection

Among malignant lesions of the oral cavity, oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) comprises90% of cases. Tumor detection is further complicated by a tendency towards field cancerization, leading to multicentric lesions, which not all may be clinically visible. In anatomical sites, such as the oral cavity, early recognition of malignancy is problematic owing to the frequent lack of gross signs or obvious symptoms. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is an emerging technology which can generate real-time images of tissue to a depth of about 1.5 mm at a resolution of 10 μm over a field-of-view up to about 5 mm diameter. OCT imaging was rapid, unproblematic and well-received by all patients, with the imaging protocol adding only a few minutes to visit duration. The current article is a brief review that highlights basic principle and applications of OCT in diagnosis of oral cancer.