TIA Centre Seminar Series: Dr Hanya Mahmood

Abstract: Oral epithelial dysplasia (OED) is a precursor state usually preceding oral squamous cell carcinoma. Histological grading is the gold standard for OED prognostication but is subjective with inconsistent outcome prediction. This talk will present the findings from a recently published study, which explores if individual OED histological features can be used to develop predictive models for malignant transformation and recurrence. Two models will be discussed: a ‘6-point model’ using the six features showing greatest prognostic association and a ‘two-point model’ using the two features with highest inter-rater pathologist agreement. Both models showed good predictive ability for both transformation and recurrence, with further improvements when certain clinical variables were added. The findings demonstrate a correlation between individual OED histological features and prognosis for the first time. The proposed models have the potential to simplify OED grading and improve patient management.