Transepithelial Brush Biopsy – Oral CDx® – A Noninvasive Method for the Early Detection of Precancerous and Cancerous Lesions

Abstract

Introduction: The Oral CDx® brush biopsy (BB) method is a computer-assisted sample analysis that detects abnormal cells in all cell layers of the epithelium of the oral mucosa. Method: We took 263 oral BBs from 200 patients with potentially malignant disorders. Results: We received 204 negative results and 39 atypical, 7 positive and 13 inadequate results. SBs were taken in 56 cases. Therefore, the sensitivity for the detection of abnormal cells was 90% and the specificity was 44.1%. The positive predictive value accounted for 47.2% and the NPV accounted for 88.2%. Discussion and Conclusion: For the results of sensitivity and specificity of the Oral CDx® BB, there is still space for improvement but they are already high. Additional methods like DNA-image cytometry may enhance the results. But it is a simple and noninvasive method which does not need a special effort either from the patient or from the clinicians.

Keywords

• brush biopsy
• screening method
• mucosal lesions
• oral cancer
• sensitivity
• specificity