Elucidation of genetic and epigenetic control mechanisms in cancer development and establishment of clinical examination methods

2020 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 19K19250
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Early-Career Scientists
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Review Section: Basic Section 57060:Surgical dentistry-related
• Research Institution: Tsurumi University
• Principal Investigator: Nakamura Nanami 鶴見大学, 歯学部, 臨床助手 (40824909)
• Project Period (FY): 2019-04-01 – 2021-03-31
• Keywords: 蛍光観察法 / VELscope / IllumiScan / 上皮性異形成 / 口腔がん

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Conventionally, an iodine-staining method (IOM) has been used to detect the oral epithelial dysplasia. However, IOM has several weak points: iodine is irritative to the mucosa, it is contraindicated in patients with allergy to iodine, and it cannot be used in keratinized mucosa. Therefore, using the fluorescence visulaization devices, such as IllumiScan and VELscope, set the cutoff value from the luminance ratio between the healthy tissue and FVL for an objective index of fluorescence visualization method (AVM). To obtain the detection accuracy of epithelial dysplasia of the tongue, we used histopathological diagnosis as the gold standard and examined its clinical application potential in comparison with the iodine-staining method.
Objective AVM has a higher accuracy rate than IOM, and it was indicated the possibility of clinical application as an auxiliary detection method for epithelial dysplasia of the tongue.

Free Research Field

口腔外科

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

口腔がんは口腔顎顔面領域に発生するため、発見が遅延した場合、外科的な手術が施されたとしても、術後、社会生活に不可欠な摂食嚥下機能、構音機能ならびに審美的機能に著しい低下をきたす。そのため、口腔がんにおいて早期発見早期治療が重要となる。
従来、口腔がんおよび上皮性異形成の検出のためにヨード染色法(IOM)が用いられてきたが、IOMにはヨードによる粘膜刺激があり、角化粘膜には適応できないという弱点があり、近年、非接触・非侵襲の蛍光観察法が用いられてきている。しかしながら、現在、蛍光観察装置はさまざまな機器が開発、臨床応用されているが、それらの客観的評価法は未だ確立されておらず、精度も様々である。