Open AccessMethylene Blue as a Diagnostic Aid in the Early Detection of Potentially Malignant and Malignant Lesions of Oral Mucosa
Author(s) -
Abraham Lejoy,
Rai Arpita,
B. Vamsi Krishna,
Naikmasur Venkatesh
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
ethiopian journal of health sciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.479
H-Index - 20
eISSN - 2413-7170
pISSN - 1029-1857
DOI - 10.4314/ejhs.v26i3.2
Subject(s) - methylene blue , malignancy , medicine , staining , toluidine , pathology , biopsy , cancer , in vivo , oral mucosa , dermatology , biology , chemistry , biochemistry , photocatalysis , catalysis , microbiology and biotechnology
In vivo stains are the prompt resources, which have emerged in recent years to aid as clinical diagnostic tools in detecting early potentially malignant and malignant lesions. Toluidine blue, by its property of retaining in the increased DNA and RNA cellular activity areas, aids in delineating the suspicious areas. However, it is hazardous if swallowed, and has been shown to have toxicity to fibroblasts. Methylene blue has a similar chemical structure and exhibits similar physicochemical properties as toluidine blue. It is less toxic to the human body and has recently been proposed for screening some gastrointestinal or prostate tumors. The application of this material in detecting oral lesions has so far not been addressed. The objective of this study was to evaluate the sensitivity and reliability of in vivo staining with methylene blue as a diagnostic adjunct in screening for oral malignant or potentially malignant lesions.