Diagnostic significance of narrow-band imaging for detecting high-grade dysplasia, carcinoma in situ, and carcinoma in oral leukoplakia

Objectives/Hypothesis: To investigate the diagnostic accuracy of the established patterns of intraepithelial microvasculature of narrow-band imaging (NBI) in diagnosing upper aerodigestive tract neoplasm of the squamous epithelium for detecting high-grade dysplasia, carcinoma in situ, and carcinoma in oral leukoplakia. Study Design: Retrospective case-control study. Methods: Using histopathological findings as the standard, clinical diagnosis of oral leukoplakia and 3 different but established NBI criteria were compared and evaluated statistically. Results: A total of 414 patients, including 365 males and 49 females, with mean age of 52.15 ± 10.75 years, were enrolled. The odds ratio of detecting high-grade dysplasia and carcinomatous lesions by twisted elongation of intraepithelial papillary capillary loop (IPCL) and IPCL pattern destruction was 95.53 (confidence interval 95%: 42.19-216.29), and the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, and accuracy were 84.62%, 94.56%, 74.32%, 97.06%, and 93.0%, respectively, which were significantly better than the other two established NBI criteria (p < 0.001). Conclusions: The NBI images of twisted elongation of IPCL and IPCL pattern destruction are indicators of high-grade dysplasia or carcinomatous lesions in oral leukoplakia.