The aim of this study was to ascertain the relation between surface electrical potential and the presence of cancer in the buccal mucosa and their correlation.

A device was designed to measure the skin potentials on the face, and various head and neck carcinomas can be detected in a noninvasive way. The present study is a case control study in the ratio 1:1, comprising two groups of 10 individuals each. The two distinct groups of the study are as follows:

1. Normal subjects group consisting of individuals with no habit of tobacco, with the absence of any lesion active or passive on the skin or buccal mucosa.

2. Cancer patients group consisting of individuals attending the head and neck services at the Tata Memorial Hospital, Mumbai, with the habit of tobacco consumption and having a lesion on the buccal mucosa with biopsy confirming diagnosis of squamous cell carcinoma (SCC).

Sites of SCC were significantly electropositive compared with control sites in normal tissue. But noncancerous lesions yielded no potential difference between the lesion and control sites.

The skin surface potential values are maintained in an individual with no cancerogenesis, whereas in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) the lesion values are more electropositive than the surrounding areas. This can be used to detect OSCC.

Significance: The device designed is patient-compliant and can be used in cancers of breast, colon, etc. More research work is recommended on skin surface potentials.

Vahanwala SP, Mukherji S, Dhawangale A, Agrawal S. Biopotential Assessment—An Alternative in Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma Diagnostics: A Study. Int J Head Neck Surg 2015;6(4):168-174.