Oral cancer: diagnostic options as an aid to histology in order to predict patients at high risk for malignant transformation.

Oral cancer continues to afflict the general population in growing numbers with a relatively low survival rate. Today, through histology, the potential danger of a pre-cancerous lesion can be detected, yet it does not reflect with certainty its biologic behavior. Recent studies have shown that some pre-cancerous lesions with mild dysplasia may undergo malignant transformation and lesions with severe dysplasia may remain quiet. Our goal is to locate the relatively small population of patients that are at high risk for malignant transformation at an early stage of carcinogenesis so they can be treated effectively. Methods that can identify the molecular and DNA changes may provide the data needed to predict the true malignant potential of a pre-cancerous lesion and its potential for transformation with a higher degree of certainty. The purpose of this article was to review some of the diagnostic options that are being studied and their link to carcinogenesis.