{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,28]],"date-time":"2026-08-28T22:07:58Z","timestamp":1787954878051,"version":"build-2784847793"},"reference-count":18,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"3","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,30]],"date-time":"2026-01-30T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1769731200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["JCM"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background: Early and accurate diagnosis remains crucial to improving outcomes in oral cancer. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) offers real-time, high-resolution imaging that may support diagnosis and treatment planning in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). Methods: In this prospective study, preoperative OCT scans were obtained from 68 histologically confirmed OSCC lesions, with 30 paired adjacent mucosa samples from the same patients as histologically negative comparators (diagnostic dataset: 98 lesions). OCT findings were compared with histopathology for diagnostic performance, OCT biomarker patterns by tumour grade, tumour depth measurement, margin assessment, and subsite-specific performance. Results: OCT demonstrated 98.5% sensitivity, 96.7% specificity, and an AUC of 0.98 for detection of invasive OSCC. OCT biomarkers\u2014including abnormal epithelial architecture with variable epithelial thickness, stratification loss, basement membrane disruption, and increased subepithelial reflectivity\u2014varied systematically with tumour differentiation grade. Tumour depth measurements showed acceptable agreement with histology, while margin definition was correct in 80% of cases. Performance was highest in the tongue and the floor of the mouth, with reduced performance in posterior\/keratinised subsites. Image artefacts occurred in 5.1% of scans. Conclusions: OCT provides a reproducible, real-time adjunct for diagnosis, margin planning, and lesion stratification in OSCC, with recognised limitations related to light attenuation and operator-dependent factors. Multicentre validation and integration with digital interpretation platforms are warranted.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/jcm15031102","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,30]],"date-time":"2026-01-30T11:09:22Z","timestamp":1769771362000},"page":"1102","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":2,"title":["Optical Coherence Tomography for Invasive Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma: Diagnostic Accuracy and Grade- and Subsite-Associated Imaging Features"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"15","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6914-7401","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Waseem","family":"Jerjes","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College London, London W12 0BZ, UK"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Zaid","family":"Hamdoon","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Dental Medicine, University of Sharjah, Sharjah 27272, United Arab Emirates"},{"name":"Unit of OMFS, UCL Eastman Dental Institute, London WC1E 6DE, UK"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Dara","family":"Rashed","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Unit of OMFS, UCL Eastman Dental Institute, London WC1E 6DE, UK"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Colin","family":"Hopper","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Unit of OMFS, UCL Eastman Dental Institute, London WC1E 6DE, UK"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,30]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","first-page":"209","article-title":"Global Cancer Statistics 2020: GLOBOCAN Estimates of Incidence and Mortality Worldwide for 36 Cancers in 185 Countries","volume":"71","author":"Sung","year":"2021","journal-title":"CA Cancer J Clin."},{"key":"ref_2","first-page":"229","article-title":"Global cancer statistics 2022: GLOBOCAN estimates of incidence and mortality worldwide for 36 cancers in 185 countries","volume":"74","author":"Bray","year":"2024","journal-title":"CA Cancer J. 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Otolaryngol."}],"container-title":["Journal of Clinical Medicine"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2077-0383\/15\/3\/1102\/pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,30]],"date-time":"2026-01-30T11:32:50Z","timestamp":1769772770000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2077-0383\/15\/3\/1102"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,30]]},"references-count":18,"journal-issue":{"issue":"3","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,2]]}},"alternative-id":["jcm15031102"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/jcm15031102","relation":{},"ISSN":["2077-0383"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2077-0383","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,30]]}}}