Dr. Laronde’s Research

Research Interests

Oral cancer is a substantial yet often unrecognized global health issue with a high mortality rate (~50% 5-year survival) primarily due to the late stage at which it is diagnosed. Opportunistic oral cancer screening can be effective at finding early disease and is a significant part of every oral health professional’s training, education and scope of practice. However, there is a significant variation in the frequency and quality of oral cancer screening within practice settings.

My research interests include:

  1. The oral cancer screening knowledge, opinions and practices of oral health professionals.
  2. The use of adjunctive screening tools, such as fluorescence visualization and toluidine blue, by community practitioners.
  3. The oral cancer screening of high risk and vulnerable populations.
  4. The continued development of screening aids to assist in the detection of oral premalignant and malignant disease and the prediction of the outcome of premalignant diseases.
  5. The barriers and facilitators to oral cancer screening by oral health professionals.

I am a member of the BC Oral Cancer Prevention Program, a multidisciplinary research group investigating demographic, clinical and molecular risk factors of oral cancer and pre-cancer.

Links

Member: BC Oral Cancer Prevention Program

Recent Publications

  1. Rosin MP, Poh CF, Williams PM, Laronde DM, Berean K, Gardner KJ, Jiang H, Wu L, Lee JJ, Zhang L (2011). Validation of LOH profiles as predictors of progression for oral premalignant lesions. (submitted).
  2. Laronde DM, Zhang L, Poh CF, Williams PM, Rosin MP (2011). Clinical indicators of the development of a second oral malignancy at a previously treated cancer site: early results of a longitudinal study. (completed, not yet submitted).
  3. Laronde DM, Hislop TG, Zhang L, Rosin MP (2011). Decision-making on detection and triage of oral mucosal lesions in community dental practices: Part 1 Screening decisions and referral. (completed, not yet submitted).
  4. Laronde DM, Hislop TG, Zhang L, Rosin MP (2011). Decision-making on detection and triage of oral mucosal lesions in community dental practices: Part 2 Influence of fluorescence on screening decisions. (completed, not yet submitted).
  5. Laronde DM, Poh CF, Zhang L, Ng S, Williams PM, Gardner KJ, MacAulay C, Rosin MP (2011). Fluorescence visualization as a clinical visual adjunct tool to identify high-risk oral premalignant lesions. (completed, not yet submitted).
  6. Poh CF, MacAulay CE, Laronde DM, Williams PM, Zhang L, Rosin MP (2011). Squamous cell carcinoma and precursor lesions: diagnosis and screening in a technical era. Periodontol 2000 (in press).
  7. Laronde DM, Hislop TG, Elwood JM, Rosin MP (2008). Oral cancer: Just the facts. J Can Dent Assoc 74:269-272, www.cda-adc.ca/jcda/vol-74/issue-3/269.html.
  8. Laronde DM, Bottorff J, Hislop TG, Poh CF, Currie B, Williams PM, Rosin MP (2008). Experiences from the dental office: Initiating oral cancer screening. J Can Dent Assoc 74:239-242.
  9. The Early Detection of Oral Cancer Working Group (2008). Guidelines for the early detection of oral cancer in British Columbia. J Can Dent Assoc 74:245-252.
  10. Hovan AJ, Laronde DM, Zhang L, Currie B (2008). What do I say to my patient who needs a biopsy? J Can Dent Assoc 74:257-258.
  11. Laronde DM, Poh CF, Williams PM, Hislop TG, Zhang L, MacAulay C, Rosin MP (2007). A magic wand for the community dental office? Observations from the British Columbia Oral Cancer Prevention Program. J Can Dent Assoc 73:607-609.
  12. Poh CF, Ng SP, Williams PM, Zhang L, Laronde DM, Lane P, MacAulay C, Rosin MP (2007). Direct fluorescence visualization of clinically occult high-risk oral premalignant disease using a simple hand-hel device. Head Neck – J Sci Spec 29:71-76.
  13. Zhang L, Williams PM, Poh CF, Laronde DM, Epstein JB, Durham S, Nakamura H, Berean K, Hovan A, Le ND, Hislop G, Priddy R, Hay J, Lam WL, Rosin MP (2005). Toluidine blue staining identifies primary oral premalignant lesions with high molecular risk of progression. Cancer Res 65:8017-8021. Article published by Cancer Research chosen for American Association of Cancer Research (AACR) Breaking News.