The Importance of Mucosal Screening in the Prevention of Oral Cancer.

June 30, 2026 updated by: Marta Sawczuk, Medical University of Warsaw

Patients attending the Department of Oral Mucosal and Periodontal Diseases at the University Dental Center of the Medical University of Warsaw who provide written informed consent will be invited to participate in the study.

Participation will begin with completing a short, anonymous questionnaire. The questions will focus on factors that may increase the risk of developing oral potentially malignant disorders and oral cancer, such as tobacco use, alcohol consumption, dietary habits, chronic diseases, and other health-related information.

Next, a comprehensive oral examination will be performed by a qualified dental hygienist according to a standardized examination protocol. The examination will include assessment of the lips, cheeks, gums, hard and soft palate, tongue, floor of the mouth, and throat. The oral mucosa will be evaluated for its appearance, colour, moisture, and the presence of any abnormalities, such as white or red patches, ulcers, erosions, nodules, or other lesions. A palpation examination of selected lymph nodes in the head and neck region will also be performed.

During the visit, oral hygiene will be assessed using an oral hygiene index. The condition of the teeth and any prosthetic restorations will also be evaluated to identify areas where dental plaque may accumulate or where chronic irritation of the oral mucosa may occur.

The final stage of the examination will involve assessment of the oral mucosa using the Oralitest fluorescence device. This is a painless, non-invasive procedure that uses light of a specific wavelength to examine the oral mucosa. The examination takes only a few minutes, requires no special preparation, and the device does not come into direct contact with the oral tissues. Healthy oral mucosa emits a characteristic green fluorescence, whereas areas that may require further investigation appear as darker regions. The result of the fluorescence examination is available immediately after the procedure.

Study Overview

Status

Enrolling by invitation

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

The study will be conducted among patients who consent to complete the questionnaire and participate in the study-those who visit the Department of Oral Mucosal and Periodontal Diseases at the University Dental Center of the Medical University of Warsaw for the prevention and treatment of oral mucosal and periodontal diseases. Each participant will be asked to complete a proprietary questionnaire designed for the study, consisting of questions regarding risk factors for potentially neoplastic lesions and oral cancer

. Subsequently, the following examinations will be conducted sequentially: a conventional external and intraoral examination, and an examination of the oral mucosa using fluorescence methods with the selected Oralitest device. A curing light is required to perform the fluorescence method. When epithelial tissue is exposed to light of a specific wavelength, fluorescence examination can reveal changes in its structure-down to the basement membrane, where precancerous lesions typically originate. This allows for the clear distinction of diseased, altered tissue, which appears as a darkened, irregular area, sharply contrasting with the healthy background that reflects light with a characteristic bright color. Both the clinical examination and the fluorescence examination will be conducted by a single dental hygienist-the project author-according to a specific, standardized protocol covering the labial red and individual parts of the oral mucosa (mucosa of the lips, cheeks, hard and soft palate, gums, oropharynx, tongue, and floor of the mouth). In the clinical examination, the mucosa will be assessed for color, moisture, and the presence of the following lesions: spot/stain (white, red, purple, black), papule, nodule, tumor, blister, vesicle, bulla, pustule, abrasion, erosion, fissure, ulcer, scale, scab, scar. A lymph node palpation examination will also be conducted according to a specific protocol: preauricular nodes, parotid nodes, paratracheal node, submandibular nodes. To assess oral hygiene, the API index will be determined, and the dentition and prosthetic restorations will be evaluated for areas where bacterial plaque can accumulate and for factors that irritate the mucous membrane. During the examination using fluorescence methods with the Oralitest device, the mucosa will be assessed for the presence of lesions that may suggest dysplasia-dark, irregular, often asymmetrical spots clearly contrasting with healthy, green-glowing tissue. The presence of lesions, their location and size, or any deviations from normal tissue fluorescence will be recorded in the oral mucosa examination chart. Patients in whom potentially malignant neoplastic changes are detected will be immediately referred for consultation with a periodontist.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

1383

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • Poland
    • Masovian Voivodeship
      • Warsaw, Masovian Voivodeship, Poland, 02-091
        • Medical University of Warsaw

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • 18 years of age or older

Exclusion Criteria:

  • under 18 years of age
  • patients with diagnosed and actively treated OPMD-related lesions.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Diagnostic
  • Allocation: N/A
  • Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Adult Patients Attending Routine Oral Mucosal Examination
Adult participants (≥18 years) consecutively recruited from patients attending the Department of Oral Mucosal Diseases and Periodontology, University Dental Center, Medical University of Warsaw, for the prevention and treatment of oral mucosal and periodontal diseases. Participants with previously diagnosed and actively treated oral potentially malignant disorders (OPMD) will be excluded. All participants will complete a study-specific questionnaire assessing risk factors for OPMD and oral cancer and will undergo both conventional clinical oral examination and fluorescence screening oral examination. Based on questionnaire responses, participants will subsequently be classified into high-risk and low-risk categories for secondary analyses; however, all participants will undergo the same study procedures.
Device: Fluorescent oral examination (FOE)

Oral Fluorescence Examination Fluorescent oral examination (FOE) - an intraoral examination - was conducted by a single dental hygienist (the study author) according to a predetermined protocol. Intraorally: the examination areas are identical to those in the COE intervention-the red of the lips, as well as specific areas of the oral mucosa (mucosa of the lips, cheeks, hard and soft palate, gums, alveolar ridge, tongue, and floor of the mouth). The mucosa will be examined for the presence of lesions that may suggest dysplasia-dark, irregular, often asymmetrical patches that stand out distinctly from the healthy, green-glowing tissue.

This allows for the clear distinction of diseased, altered tissue-which appears as a darkened, irregular area-from the healthy background, which reflects light with its characteristic bright color.

Diagnostic test: Conventional oral examination
Conventional oral examination (COE)-including conventional external and intraoral examinations-was conducted by a single researcher, a dental hygienist and the author of the study, according to a predetermined, standardized protocol. Extroral: examination of lymph node palpability at the following sites: preauricular nodes, retroauricular nodes, parauricular node, and submandibular nodes. Intraoral: examination of the mucosal membranes of the lips, cheeks, hard and soft palate, gums, oral cavity floor, and tongue, as well as the presence of lesions (spots/patches-white, red, purple, black). In clinical material, the mucous membrane reveals the location, moisture level, and presence of lesions: spot/stain (white, red, purple, black), papule, nodule, tumor, blister, vesicle, bubble, pustule, abrasion, erosion, fissure, ulcer, scale, scab, scar. In order to implement corrective measures that may result in API effects.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
presence of OPMD (Oral Potentially Malignant Disorders)
Time Frame: From the start of the conventional examination until the completion of the subsequent fluorescence examination-all during the same visit.
detection of abnormalities on the oral mucosa: white, red, or white-and-red lesions classified as Oral Potentially Malignant Disorders.
From the start of the conventional examination until the completion of the subsequent fluorescence examination-all during the same visit.

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Medical University of Warsaw

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Marta Sawczuk, MPH, Warszawski Uniwersytet Medyczny - Doktorant

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Estimated)

June 1, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

August 31, 2027

Study Completion (Estimated)

October 30, 2027

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

June 25, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

June 30, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

July 6, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

July 6, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

June 30, 2026

Last Verified

June 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • KB/53/2024
  • WLS5/1/Z/MB/N/25/26 (Other Grant/Funding Number: Medical Univerisity of Warsaw)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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