Chemiluminescence and LED: The Future of Early Oral Cancer Detection?

Advancements in cancer research have led to the innovation of contemporary diagnostic tools for early oral cancer detection. Vizilite® and Glowsticks based on the principle of 'chemiluminescence' and Light Emitting Diodes (LED) are the latest diagnostic tools available for this purpose. Objectives: To evaluate the potential value of chemiluminescence (Vizilite® and Glowsticks) and LED as tools for the early detection of oral cancer, dysplasia and potentially malignant epithelial lesions (PMEL). The efficacy of these tools was assessed in terms of sensitivity, specificity and accuracy. Methods: A sample of 67 high-risk individuals aged 35 years and above were selected. Their inclusion criteria were history of habits including smoking, alcohol consumption or betel quid chewing, with presence of primary squamous cell carcinomas (SCC), previously treated SCC or PMEL. The study was conducted in two phases. During the first phase of the study, Vizilite® was assessed on 40 subjects. In the second phase, Glowsticks and LED were assessed on 27 subjects. Biopsies were performed on identified lesions in 37 subjects. Another 14 subjects had no lesions. In the remaining 16 subjects, a biopsy was not performed due to subject's ill-health. The biopsy findings were correlated with the clinical observations. Results: The sensitivity was 100% for all three diagnostic tools whereas the specificity was higher for Glowsticks and LED (90%) than for Vizilite® (85.7%). The accuracy was marginally higher for Vizilite® (96.8%) compared to the other two (95%). Conclusions: Chemiluminescence and LED are effective in the early detection of oral cancer, dysplasia and PMEL. The LED may prove to be cheap, safe and non-invasive tool for screening high-risk individuals in clinics, health centres and remote areas devoid of modern healthcare facilities. Keywords: oral cancer, chemiluminescence, vizilite, glowsticks, LED