Chewing of tobacco as a part of custom in rural India is followed for many centuries. Superficial cells of the oral mucosa are constantly being shed, as a result of constant abrasion of the surface tissue. Any defects in this procedure can lead to developmental anomalies as well as cancerous growth. Cytomorphometric examination of these cells is one such priceless quantitative method to assess the influence of tobacco chewing on buccal mucosa. Micronuclei are extra nuclear cytoplasmic bodies, induced in cells by numerous genotoxic agents that damage the chromosomes. The data of the different nuclear anomalies in buccal mucosal cells was analyzed on the basis of precancerous and cancerous oral lesions. The data of the present study clearly revealed that cytomorphological changes were much more evident in patients with oral cancerous lesions in comparison to patients with precancerous oral lesions.

Chewing tobacco, Oral lesions, Micronuclei assay