Background: Oral cavity lesions are usually squamous cell in nature. These lesions can present as both malignant and premalignant conditions. Premalignant lesions are usually dysplastic lesions which can be mild, moderate and severe, leukoplakias or erythroplakia. 1020% of premalignant lesions have a tendency to progress into malignancy. Hence it becomes important to identify these lesions to prevent progression. Apoptotic index can be used as a simple tool to assess the progression of the disease and identify individuals who have a tendency to development malignancy. Aims: The aim of this study is to assess the apoptotic index in premalignant oral squamous cell lesions and evaluate its usefulness in assessing disease progression. Material and methods: 33 cases were studied. 5 were normal and used as control and the rest of 28 from varying degrees of dysplasia’s. Apoptotic index was assessed on H&E stained sections using oil immersion lens. Apoptotic bodies were counted in 10 oil immersion fields and expressed as a percentage. Results: The results showed that apoptotic index increased with the grade of dysplasia’s, showing a peak in moderate dysplasia. Conclusion: From this study we can conclude that apoptotic index can be used as a simple tool to evaluate patients with oral premalignant lesion. It can also help in identifying patients who will progress to malignancy and can be used as a prognostic marker.

Keywords: Dysplasia; Apoptotic Bodies; Apoptotic Index.