Comparison of Nucleus and Cytoplasm Diameter of Buccal Mucosa Cells in Cigarette Smokers and Nonsmokers: A Cytomorphometric Study using Feulgen and Papanicolaou Stains

Introduction: A decrease in cell size and an increase in nuclear dimension due to changes in the amount of DNA could be an indicator of early detection of malignant changes. This study aimed to compare the nuclear and cytoplasmic diameters of buccal mucosa cells in cigarette smokers and nonsmokers in a cytomorphometric study using Feulgen and Papanicolaou stains. Material & Methods: In this case-control study, cytological smears of human buccal mucosa cells stained with Feulgen and Papanicolaou of 30 smokers and 15 controls who had never smoked were compared regarding the cytoplasm size and nucleus diameter. Moreover, the difference among the mean values of the cytoplasm size, nucleus diameter, and nucleus-to-cytoplasm ratio in the case and control samples regarding the Feulgen and Papanicolaou stained slides were analyzed using the Independent Samples t-Test. (Ethic code: IR.SHAHED.REC.1399.127) Findings: The mean cytoplasm size of smokers stained with Feulgen was significantly higher than that of Papanicolaou-stained samples in smokers (P=0.01). There was no significant difference between the mean diameter of the nucleus and the nucleus-to-cytoplasm ratio of smokers stained with Feulgen and Papanicolaou (P=0.2 and P=0.1, respectively). Discussion & Conclusion: In buccal mucosa cells of cigarette smokers, Feulgen and Papanicolaou staining methods had the same outcomes in demonstrating the morphometric changes of the nucleus; however, there were no differences in revealing cytoplasm diameter.