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.

Narrow Band Imaging showed high reliability in detection of Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma in a cohort of patients with oral cavity lesions not normalized for bias/confounding factors. Still, Oral Lichen Planus may lead to false positives. Narrow Band Imaging could help in the follow-up of patients with multiple lesions through detection of capillary pattern IV, which seems to be the most significantly associated to neoplastic epithelium.