Assessment of cytogenic damage in the form of micronuclei in oral epithelial cells in patients using smokeless and smoked form of tobacco and non-tobacco users and its relevance for oral cancer

Context: Early detection of cytological damages may help in reduction of morbidity and mortality in patients with oral cancer. Aims: (1) The primary aim of this study is to assess the cytogenic damage in the form of micronuclei (MN) in patients with smokeless and smoked tobacco using habit. (2) The secondary aim of this study is to compare the MN score in patients using tobacco and patients with no tobacco habit. (3) To find out incidence of MN according to duration and frequency of tobacco usage. Settings and Design: This is a clinical study. Materials and Methods: A total of 100 patients each with the habit of smokeless tobacco (SLT) chewing, smoked tobacco usage and with no habit were included in the study. Epithelial cell smears were prepared and slides were stained with Papanicolaou stain. Scoring of at least 1000 cells was done and a MN frequency score was assigned for exfoliated oral mucosal cells. Statistical Analysis: Analysis of variance and post hoc tests were used. Results: The difference between the total number of cells with MN was not appreciable between the smokeless and smoked tobacco groups, though the total number of MN was higher in subjects using SLT. Total number of cells with MN and the total number of MN were significantly lower in non-tobacco users when compared with tobacco users. There was very weak positive correlation between the total number of MN as per the duration and frequency of the tobacco habit. Conclusion: The use of smokeless and smoked tobacco are associated with cytotoxic and genotoxic effects. SLT seems to cause more damaging effects than the smoked form.