Oral submucous fibrosis (OSF) is a high risk precancerous condition characterized by changes in the connective tissue fibers of the lamina propria and deeper parts leading to stiffness of the mucosa and restricted mouth opening. Patients with severe cases have distinct difficulties in chewing, swallowing and speaking. It predominantly occurs in Indians and other population of the Indian subcontinent with certain oral habits. In patients with submucous fibrosis, the oral epithelium becomes atrophic and thereby becomes more vulnerable to carcinogens. It is now accepted that chewing areca is the most important aetiological factor for developing OSF. The atrophic epithelium shows first an intercellular edema and later epithelial atypia associated with moderate epithelial hyperplasia. From then on, carcinoma may develop any time. It is suggested that submucous fibrosis should be regarded as a condition that causes predisposition to the development of oral cancer. Here we are presenting two cases of oral submucous fibrosis showing malignant potential and development of oral squamous cell carcinoma.

Background: Clearing is an important step in the preparation of histological sections, that removes alcohol and other dehydrants from tissues prior to infiltration of the embedding material (usually paraffin wax).Different types of clearing agents are chloroform, Xylene, Toluene, Paraffin, Methyl benzoate and methyl salicylate & Citrus fruit oils.The commonly used clearing agent is xylene that is miscible with both alcohol & parrafin wax. Xylene is supposed to be highly toxic and carcinogenic. As previous research studies have shown the effectiveness of different vegetable oils as clearants, this study was designed to evaluate the efficacy of coconut oil. Materials and Methods: Two equal halves of 25 oral soft tissue specimens were processed simultaneously in xylene and coconut oil as clearing agents. The Xylenetreated specimens (XY-S) and Coconut oil-treated specimens (CO-S) were checked for gross and histological features and comparison was done between the two groups. Results: Significant shrinkage was noted in XY-S compared to that in COS. No difference was found in either of the sections when checked for cellular details and staining quality. Morphometrically, there was significant reduction in the mean cell area in XY-S compared to that in COS. Conclusion: Coconut oil may be substituted for the highly hazardous xylene as a clearing agent without compromising the quality of histological details.