Oral lichen planus and other confounding factors in narrow band imaging (NBI) during routine inspection of oral cavity for early detection of oral squamous cell carcinoma: a retrospective pilot study.

Background: Narrow Band Imaging is a noninvasive optical diagnostic tool. It allows the visualization of sub-mucosal vasculature; four patterns of shapes of submucosal capillaries can be recognized, increasingly associated with neoplastic transformation. With such characteristics, it has showed high effectiveness for detection of Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma.