Role of Colposcopy in Diagnosing Potentially Malignant Disorders and Oral Cancer:A Systematic Review

Colposcope is a non-invasive device when used it aids in Detecting the appropriate site for biopsy which saves the patients from multiple biopsies and allows in a broader range of diagnoses. For this review,the following electronic databases were searched namely PubMed (Mesh), Wiley online library, Cochrane Library using key words colposcopy, oral mucosal lesions.. The total number of articles obtained are 17 with preset inclusion and exclusion criteria to select the appropriate clinical trial. The search strategy included 4 potentially relevant articles for literature review. The sensitivity and specificity of biopsy through colposcopic examination done in the studies were fairly more thus revealing the diagnosis of early dysplastic changes in the potentially malignant disorders. Therefore, the studies reviewed concluded that clinical criterion of colposcopic examination was found to be more appropriate for the selection of biopsy specimens in cases of potentially malignant disorders and carcinoma. Even though the results in the studies was positive and promising, further long term studies are to be done in large populations to determine the diagnostic changes.