Background: This study aimed to assess the diagnostic utility and associated cost of oral liquid‐based brush cytology (OLBC) in the diagnosis of oral cancer and oral potentially malignant disorders (OPMDs).Methods: A total of 284 patients with oral mucosal lesions were included. OLBC samples were collected from all patients immediately before undergoing surgical biopsies. A liquid‐based cytology slide was prepared from each OLBC sample for cytological evaluation using the modified 2014 Bethesda cytology system. The results and the cost were compared with the histopathological outcomes.Results: The level of agreement between the two approaches was very good (weighted kappa = 0.824). The accuracy of OLBC in differentiating between the different diagnostic groups was 91.69%, whereas the associated sensitivity and specificity were 79.23% and 94.81%, respectively. The estimated cost of each OLBC sample was at least 26% less than the cost of a single biopsy and more than 42% less in cases of multiple biopsied lesions.Conclusions: The proposed modifications of the Bethesda system can be adopted as a standardized system for oral cytological assessment. Our findings support OLBC as a reliable adjunct to surgical biopsy in the diagnosis of OPMDs. This tool has potential for oral cancer–finding and surveillance programs.

Background: Cell‐free DNA (cfDNA) and cell‐free mitochondrial DNA (cf‐mtDNA) have been postulated as potential diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers for different human malignancies. Early detection of head and neck malignancies is fundamental for optimal patient management. This study, therefore, aimed to assess the utility of saliva‐based liquid biopsy as a noninvasive source of cfDNA and cf‐mtDNA for detecting head and neck cancer (HNSCC).Methods: One hundred thirty‐three patients diagnosed with either oral leukoplakia (OLK) or HNSCC were compared with 137 healthy volunteers. An unstimulated whole saliva sample was collected from each participant. The absolute copy numbers of salivary cf‐mtDNA and cfDNA were quantified using Multiplex Quantitative PCR. Two diagnostic indices based on the investigated molecules were assessed for their ability to differentiate between different diagnostic categories.Results: The median scores of cfDNA and cf‐mtDNA were statistically significantly higher among HNSCC patients (p < 0.05), revealing area under the curve values of 0.758 and 0.826, respectively. The associated accuracy for this test in discriminating HNSCC from other diagnostic categories was 77.37% for the cfDNA‐based index and 80.5% for the cf‐mtDNA‐based index. The median score of cfDNA was statistically significantly higher for patients with severe epithelial dysplasia (OED) compared to those with epithelial keratosis with no OED and mild OED. However, there was no significant difference between controls and OLK individuals.Conclusion: cfDNA and cf‐mtDNA showed potential for use as precision medicine tools to detect HNSCC. Further multi‐centre prospective studies are warranted to assess the prognostic utility of these molecules.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the prevalence and severity of plaque-induced gingivitis among a Saudi adult population in Riyadh region. METHODS: Three hundred and eighty-five eligible participants in this cross-sectional study were recruited from routine dental patients attending the oral diagnosis clinic at Al-Farabi College in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia from June 2013 to December 2013. A clinical examination was performed by 2 dentists to measure the gingival and plaque indices of Löe and Silness for each participant. RESULTS: The prevalence of gingivitis was 100% among adult subjects aged between 18-40 years old. Moreover, the mean gingival index was 1.68±0.31, which indicates a moderate gingival inflammation. In fact, males showed more severe signs of gingival inflammation compared with females (p=0.001). In addition, the mean plaque index was 0.875±0.49, which indicates a good plaque status of the participants. Interestingly, the age was not related either to the gingival inflammation (p=0.13), or to the amount of plaque accumulation (p=0.17). However, males were more affected than females (p=0.005). CONCLUSION: The results of this study show that plaque accumulation is strongly associated with high prevalence of moderate to severe gingivitis among Saudi subjects.