Early Diagnosis of Oral Mucosal Alterations in Smokers and E-Cigarette Users Based on Micronuclei Count: A Cross-Sectional Study among Dental Students

Abstract

The presence of micronuclei in oral epithelial cells is considered a marker of genotoxicity, which can be identified using exfoliative cytology. The aim of this study was to investigate cytotoxic damage through the evaluation of micronuclei in the oral mucosa of smokers and e-cigarette users compared to nonsmokers. We obtained smears from the buccal mucosa of 68 participants divided in 3 groups (smokers, e-cigarette users and nonsmokers), which were further processed with Papanicolaou stain. The frequencies of micronuclei and micronucleated cells were recorded and statistically analyzed at a level of significance of p < 0.05. The mean micronuclei values per 1000 cells were 3.6 ± 1.08 for smokers, 3.21 ± 1.12 for e-cigarette users and 1.95 ± 1.05 for nonsmokers. The mean values of micronucleated cells per 1000 cells were 2.48 ± 0.91 for smokers, 2.39 ± 1.07 for e-cigarette users and 1.4 ± 0.68 for nonsmokers. Smokers and e-cigarette users had significantly higher values of micronuclei and micronucleated cells compared to nonsmokers, but there were no significant differences between smokers and e-cigarette users. We concluded that the micronuclei count can be used as an early indicator for alterations of oral mucosa and exfoliative cytology represents an accessible tool which could be applied for mass screening.

The effects of smoking on genotoxic and histopathologic damage in exfoliated oral epithelial cells and the periodontium: A cross-sectional study

“…These counts were also higher in smokers than in nonsmokers. These results are in line with those of several periodontitis studies [11,24,28,29] and smoking studies [9,24,28,30–32] that have reported higher micronuclei counts in exfoliated buccal mucosal epithelial cells of periodontal patients and smokers than in controls, suggesting that periodontitis and smoking may affect baseline micronuclei counts in exfoliated buccal mucosal epithelial cells. For example, Bloching et al [24] observed higher micronuclei counts in exfoliated buccal mucosal epithelial cells in subjects with periodontitis, particularly those with periodontitis who use tobacco.…”

The prevalence of xerostomia among e-cigarette or combustible tobacco users: A systematic review and meta-analysis

“…In previous reports, e-cigarettes were considered less harmful to users as an aid to smoking cessation and a replacement for regular cigarettes 28 , 34 , 35 . Pop et al 36 found that clinically healthy young tobacco smokers and e-cigarette users presented an increased number of micronuclei in the oral epithelial cells, compared to non-smoking individuals. Bardellini et al 37 reported e-cigarette users to have more frequent oral lesions, burns, or inflammation compared to former or non-smokers.…”

The Use of Salivary Levels of Matrix Metalloproteinases as an Adjuvant Method in the Early Diagnosis of Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma: A Narrative Literature Review

“…Therefore, early detection of OSCC and the screening of all types of PMOLs become crucial in prevention and treatment outcomes [ 123 ]. In order to overcome the problem of early diagnosis, various diagnostic methods for screening have been proposed, such as exfoliative cytology (cytobrush) [ 123 , 124 , 125 ], the use of vital dyes [ 46 ], evaluation of oral mucosa alteration using light emission sources (chemiluminescence and autofluorescence) [ 126 , 127 ] and more recently, molecular biomarkers and salivary assays [ 128 , 129 ], which seemed promising methods, with high potential for becoming diagnostic tests [ 37 ].…”