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Cytologic and DNA‐cytometric follow‐up of oral leukoplakia after CO 2 ‐ and Er:YAG‐laser assisted ablation: A pilot study
Author(s) -
Schwarz Frank,
Maraki Dimitra,
Yalcinkaya Sebnem,
Bieling Katrin,
Böcking Alfred,
Becker Jürgen
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
lasers in surgery and medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.888
H-Index - 112
eISSN - 1096-9101
pISSN - 0196-8092
DOI - 10.1002/lsm.20188
Subject(s) - leukoplakia , er:yag laser , ablation , malignancy , oral leukoplakia , medicine , dysplasia , laser ablation , cytology , pathology , nuclear medicine , cancer , laser , optics , physics
Background and Objectives The aim of the present pilot study was to determine therapeutic responses to Er:YAG‐ and CO 2 ‐laser ablation in patients with oral leukoplakia as evaluated by means of exfoliative cytology (EC) and DNA‐image‐cytometry (DNA‐I). Study Design/Materials and Methods Ten patients exhibiting a total of 16 lesions affecting a variety of intraoral sites were randomly treated with either (1) an Er:YAG laser (300 mJ/pulse, 10 Hz, defocused mode) (ERL), or (2) an CO 2 laser (4–6 W, 20–50 Hz, focused mode) (CO). Brush (B) and incisional (I) biopsies were obtained from the respective lesions immediately before treatment (B, I) as well as 24–96 weeks postoperatively (B). In cases, in which EC revealed suspicious cells, nuclear DNA‐contents were measured using a TV image analysis system. Results Both treatment approaches resulted in a complete (C) or partial (P) remission of all investigated lesions. In particular, ERL exhibited C(3), P(5), and CO C(5), P(3). However, in the CO group, two of eight lesions showed a recurrence 32–48 weeks following treatment. Among all investigated lesions, both histological and EC/DNA‐I diagnosis revealed no sign of malignancy or dysplasia before or following laser assisted ablation. Conclusions Within the limits of the present study, it may be concluded that both treatment approaches seem to have limitations to achieve predictable eradication of oral leukoplakia. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.