Aim. To assess the efficacy of dish washing solution and diluted lemon water in deparaffinizing sections during conventional hematoxylin and eosin staining technique. Objective. The objective is to utilize eco-friendly economical substitute for xylene. Materials and Methods. Using twenty paraffin embedded tissue blocks, three sections each were prepared. One section was stained with conventional H and E method (Group A) and the other two sections with xylene-free (XF) H and E (Groups B and C). Staining characteristics were compared with xylene and scoring was given. Total score of 3–5 was regarded as adequate for diagnosis and less than that inadequate for diagnosis. Statistical Analysis. Chi-square test, Kruskal Wallis ANOVA test, and Mann-Whitney U test were used. Results. Adequacy of nuclear staining, crispness, and staining for diagnosis were greater in both Groups A and C (100%) than Group B (95%). Adequacy of cytoplasmic staining was similar in all the three groups (100%). Group B showed comparatively superior uniform staining and less retention of wax. Conclusion. Dish washing solution or diluted lemon water can be replaced for xylene as deparaffinizing agent in hematoxylin and eosin procedure.

Aims:To determine the cellular and nuclear area of keratinocytes in smears obtained from the oral mucosa of tobacco users, those with oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC), and from normal healthy persons and resolve if any significant difference exists in these three groups.Materials and Methods:The study group comprised 100 subjects 20 controls, (40 OSCC patients-20 from lesional sites and 20 from nonlesional sites, 20 tobacco smokers and 20 tobacco chewers) in the age group of 25-75 years. Oral mucosal smears obtained by using a cytobrush were stained with Papanicolaou (PAP) stain and using 20X objective in trinocular Olympus model BX53 with Jenoptik scientific grade-dedicated microphotographic camera images were taken. With ProgRes version 8.0 image analysis software, 20 cells with defined borders were evaluated from each slide. Finally, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to compare the above parameters in the studied groups.Statistical Analysis Used:Minitab and Excel software were used to analyze the data. One-way ANOVA was used to compare the above parameters in the studied groups.Results:The mean value of the cell area for groups I, II, III, IV, and V were 2838 ± 275.2, 2762.1 ± 511.4, 2861.9 ± 512.9, 2643.8 ± 333.3, and 3064.3 ± 362.7, respectively, the nuclear area (NA) was 83.88 ± 9.86, 106.19 ± 13.45, 95.11 ± 14.24, 85.55 ± 21.11, and 80.83 ± 13.45, respectively, and nuclear-to-cellular (N:C) ratio was 0.0297, 0.03924, 0.0337, 0.03257, and 0.02678, respectively.Conclusions:Thus, our study elucidates that cytomorphology gauges the effect of tobacco on the oral mucosa and possibly establishes a link between premalignant and malignant transformations even before a lesion is visibly noted.

Background:Micronuclei (MN) in oral exfoliative cells have been shown to indicate a disparaging change in genetic information of the cell. Recent studies showed correlation between the frequency of MN and severity of this damage. Grading of lesions can be used to determine the austerity of this damage. Aims: The aim of this study is to compare the MN frequency in oral exfoliated cells of normal and oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) individuals and to cytologically grade the frequency of MN in cytological smears and to correlate it with histological grading. The objective is to ascertain whether MN frequency in oral exfoliated cells can be a parameter for grading of OSCC.Settings and Design:The study group comprises of 40 subjects (20 controls and 20 OSCC patients) in the age group of 45-85 years.Materials and Methods:The cytosmear was obtained from each group and stained with Papanicolaou (PAP) stain. Twenty cells from each slide were counted for MN and cytological grade of OSCC was assigned based on the average frequency of MN. Cytological grade was correlated with histological grading and the data were recorded. Student's t-test and Spearman's correlation were used for the analysis of the data.Results:Average frequency of MN was 2.5 times higher in OSCC patients when compared to that in controls and the difference was found to be highly significant. Sixty percent correlation was found between cytological grade and histological grade of OSCC and the difference between them was not significant.Conclusions:Cytological grading can be used in grading OSCC, and MN insinuates genotoxic damage occurring in the epithelial cells.

This concludes the expediency of AgNOR staining in reflecting the high proliferation rate and a more aggressive behavior of KCOT in comparison to MA and UA which signifies requirement of a more hostile surgical approach in KCOT to avoid recurrences following different treatment modalities.