Discrimination of healthy oral tissue from oral cancer based on the mean grey value determined by optical coherence tomography

Q: What was the main objective of this study?

To identify a quantitative OCT-derived index to discriminate tumours from surrounding tissues in the oral region.

Q: How were the OCT measurements obtained and validated?

Mean grey values were determined from OCT measurements at 432 locations across fifty-four tissue specimens, and results were histologically evaluated using H&E staining.

Q: What diagnostic performance did the OCT approach achieve?

The method distinguished oral squamous cell carcinoma from healthy tissue with 93% sensitivity and 94% specificity, and the mean grey values were significantly higher in cancerous samples.

Sep 21, 2026

Uploaded by Asher

The study aimed to establish a quantitative index from optical coherence tomography (OCT) images to discriminate oral tumours from surrounding tissues. Mean grey values were calculated from 432 measurement locations across fifty-four human specimens comprising cancerous, para-cancerous, and normal tissue, and histology was assessed using hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining. OCT measurements showed significantly higher mean grey values for oral squamous cell carcinoma than healthy tissue, with 93% sensitivity and 94% specificity. Conclusions support OCT as non-invasive, real-time imaging for objective tumour margin evaluation during surgery.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

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Reading Time23 min

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Abstract

Introduction

Subjects and methods

Results

Conclusions

Clinical relevance

Keywords

Zhou et al. BMCOral Health (2024) 24:1004 BMC Oral Health [https://doi.org/10.1186/s12903-024-04741-5](https://doi.org/10.1186/s12903-024-04741-5) RESEARCH Open Access Discrimination of healthy oral tissue from oral cancer based on the mean grey value determined by optical coherence tomography Kangwei Zhou 1,2†, Kaili Zheng3†, Li Huang 1,2†, Xianglong Zheng 1,2, Canyang Jiang 1,2, Jianping Huang 1,2, Rihui Wang 1,2, Xin Ruan 1,2, Weicai Jiang 1,2, Wen Li 1,2, Qingliang Zhao3* and Lisong Lin 1,2* Abstract Objective This study aimed to identify a quantitative index for optical coherence tomography (OCT) images to discriminate tumours from surrounding tissues. Subjects and methods Based on OCT measurements, mean grey values were determined from 432 locations on fifty-four human tissue specimens (eighteen cancerous, para-cancerous, and normal tissues each) . These results were histologically evaluated by hematoxylin and eosin staining (H&E) . Results The mean grey values of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) measurements were significantly different from those of the surrounding healthy tissue (p value < 0. 0001), with the former being higher. The sensitivity and specificity of detecting tumourous tissue using this approach were 93 and 94%, respectively. Conclusions OCT as a non-invasive, real-time imaging method, correlates well with H&E pathological images. It can effectively distinguish squamous cell carcinoma from normal tissues with high sensitivity and specificity and is thus expected to assist and guide tumour margin evaluation. Clinical relevance This discovery highlights the potential of OCT in the objective evaluation of tumour margin during surgery. Keywords Oral squamous cell carcinoma , Discrimination, Mean grey value, Optical coherence tomography †Kangwei Zhou, Kaili Zheng and Li Huang contributed equally to this work. *Correspondence: Qingliang Zhao [drzhaoqingliang@yeah.net](drzhaoqingliang@yeah.net)[ ](drzhaoqingliang@yeah.net)Lisong Lin [drlinls@yeah.net](drlinls@yeah.net) 1Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou, China 2Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Binhai Campus of the First Affiliated Hospital, National Regional Medical Center, Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou, China 3State Key Laboratory of Molecular Vaccinology and Molecular Diagnostics, Organ Transplantation Institute Center for Molecular Imaging and Translational Medicine, School of Public Health, Xiamen University, Xiamen, China © The Author(s) 2024. Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License, which permits any non-commercial use, sharing, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if you modified the licensed material. You do not have permission under this licence to share adapted material derived from this article or parts of it. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit [http://](http://)[ ](http://)[creativecommons.org/l](creativecommons.org/l)icenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/. Zhou et al. BMC Oral Health (2024) 24:1004 Introduction Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is a peculiar kind of cancer that develops in the tissues of the mouth, tongue, and lips and has been generally recognised as one of the most common malignancies worldwide [1]. At present, surgical resection of the tumour is the primary t

FAQs

What was the main objective of this study?

To identify a quantitative OCT-derived index to discriminate tumours from surrounding tissues in the oral region.

How were the OCT measurements obtained and validated?

Mean grey values were determined from OCT measurements at 432 locations across fifty-four tissue specimens, and results were histologically evaluated using H&E staining.

What diagnostic performance did the OCT approach achieve?

The method distinguished oral squamous cell carcinoma from healthy tissue with 93% sensitivity and 94% specificity, and the mean grey values were significantly higher in cancerous samples.

Sep 21, 2026

Uploaded by Asher