Detecting early oral cancer: narrowband imaging system observation of the oral mucosa microvasculature

The aim of this study was to analyze and describe the intrapapillary capillary loops (IPCL), which are a feature of early oral neoplastic lesions, using a narrowband imaging (NBI) system. Forty-one patients (26 men, 15 women; mean age, 52.34 years; range, 23–83 years) presenting with non-neoplastic or neoplastic lesions, and normal cases, were examined using the prototype Evis Lucera Spectrum (Olympus Co.). The images were analyzed and an IPCL classification was devised. All normal cases (n=10) had regularly distributed capillary loops of the same shape (type I). Non-neoplastic lesions (n=8) had mild changes of the capillary loops (types II and III) and neoplastic lesions (n=23) were irregularly distributed and had several loop shapes (types III and IV). The microvascular organization of non-neoplastic lesions was notably different from that of neoplastic lesions. A brownish area was found in five cases of early carcinoma. The narrowband imaging system is a potential approach for clinically analyzing microvascular organization and IPCL. It could be useful for diagnosing oral squamous cell carcinoma at an earlier stage and for determining the margin of resection.