CANCER !is scary to hear and even more diffucult to treat if not detected in the early stages.
OBJECTIVES:
this test identifies dysplasia that do not have suspicious clinical features –These are spots that general dentists do not suspect contain abnormal cells.
METHODS:
The Test consists of 2 components:
1) a specially designed brush.
2) the analysis at a specialized laboratory.
The brush biopsy instrument captures cells and cell clusters from all layers of the epithelium under the oral spot being tested.the side or the end of the brush is rotated firmly until pin-point bleeding is observed.Transfer cells directly from the brush to the slide.apply fixative directly to the entire slide.dry for approximately 15-20 minutes,place it into the plastic container.Each test kit contains a test requisition form.The slide holder and the test requisition form are returned to Laboratories.Analysis is done and Results faxed to dentists.
RESULTS:
In every study in which the same lesion was simultaneously tested with both a brush and scalpel biopsy,brush testing was shown to have a sensitivity and specificity well over 90%.
CONCLUSION:
Because of its less invasive nature, brush testing is more likely to be used on lesions that would have not have been subjected to immediate biopsy.it can be utilized on patients referred by the general dentist with a lesion that appears entirely innocuous and which, in your clinical judgment, does not warrant a scalpel biopsy. It also allays the fears of the patient.
2) Within a given lesion, dysplastic changes are often multi-centric with normal epithelium intervening between areas of dysplasia. this test offers a noninvasive method of sampling large portions of a lesion.
3)it may be employed as a method of long-term surveillance of persistent or multiple areas of leukoplakia.