A clinic-pathological research explored the significance of ascorbic acid and iron levels in serum and saliva in premalignant disorder patients at Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh.

Abstract

Context: Oral submucous fibrosis (OSMF), or OSMF, is a well-known, potentially premalignant condition of the oral cavity. Monitoring OSMF widespread effects necessitate interventions in at-risk individuals, ideally before the disease becomes aggressive. Ascorbic acid and iron, for instance, are significant micronutrients in the pathogenesis of OSMF.

Aims: This study aimed to investigate the significance of ascorbic acid and iron levels in serum and saliva in patients with premalignant disorder (OSMF) and to correlate variations in ascorbic acid and iron levels with histopathological grading.

Settings and design: The present study was conducted on 195 patients over a period of 10 months.

Subjects and methods: These patients were divided into two groups, Group I (n = 88, Control), Group II (n = 107, clinically diagnosed and histopathologically confirmed cases of OSMF). Serum and salivary ascorbic acid were analyzed by the dintrophenyl hydrazine method, whereas serum and salivary iron were analyzed by the dipyridyl method.

Statistical analysis used: Paired t-test and Fisher test were used to compare between the mean and to find the level of significance P value.

Results: The serum and salivary ascorbic acid levels consistently decreased with the progression of histopathological grading of OSMF. Serum and salivary iron levels were also decreased in OSMF patients, and it came as significant.

Conclusions: Excess collagen synthesis during OSMF may have been promoted with ascorbic acid and iron. As a reason, serum and salivary monitoring may be significant in detecting and diagnosing OSMF early on.