Comparative Study Of Crystal Violet And Haematoxylin & Eosin Stain For The Assessment Of Mitotic Figures In Dysplastic And Malignant Lesions Of Oral Cavity

Abstract

Background: Mitotic figures are a valuable tool in assessing cellular proliferation and act as a prognostic indicator in dysplastic and malignant lesions of the oral cavity. Routinely used H&E stain has limitations in clearly distinguishing a mitotic cell from an apoptotic cell. Hence in the present study, an attempt was made to assess the utility of Crystal violet stain in evaluating mitotic figures. Objective: To compare the mitotic count in Crystal violet and H&E stained sections of dysplastic and malignant lesions of the oral cavity was done to evaluate the efficacy of Crystal violet in assessing the mitotic count. Materials and Methods: Study sample constituted of formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded tissue sections of histopathologically diagnosed cases of dysplastic and malignant lesions of the oral cavity (n = 70). Two slides of serial sections were stained, one with H&E and the other with Crystal violet. The number of mitotic figures under 400X magnification in 10 microscopic fields was recorded and the average value was calculated for both stains. Results: Out of 70 cases of oral lesions, 21 were Epithelial dysplasia and 49 were Squamous cell carcinoma. Average mitotic count per High Power Field in Epithelial dysplasia was 0.75 on H&E stain and 1.07 on Crystal violet. In the cases of Squamous cell carcinoma, it was 2.57 on H&E stain and 3.35 on Crystal violet. There was a significant increase in the number of mitotic figures in Crystal violet stained tissue sections when compared with H&E stain with a statistically significant difference showing p<0.001 in both Oral Epithelial dysplasia and Squamous cell carcinoma. Conclusion: Crystal violet stain can be a better alternative in assessing mitotic count in dysplastic and malignant lesions of oral cavity, as it is cost-effective, simple procedure and help to evaluate the prognosis of dysplastic and malignant lesions.