Biological biomarkers of oral cancer
This review will discuss biomarkers for OSCC that have emerged from different biological areas, including genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, metabolomics, immunomics, and microbiomics, which have the potential to detect the disease at an early stage and, support treatment decisionâmaking and predict treatment responsiveness.
Abstract
Abstract The oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) 5âyear survival rate of 41% has marginally improved in the last few years, with less than a 1% improvement per year from 2005 to 2017, with higher survival rates when detected at early stages. Based on histopathological grading of oral dysplasia, it is estimated that severe dysplasia has a malignant transformation rate of 7%â50%. Despite these numbers, oral dysplasia grading does not reliably predict its clinical behavior. Thus, more accurate markers predicting oral dysplasia progression to cancer would enable better targeting of these lesions for closer followâup, especially in the early stages of the disease. In this context, molecular biomarkers derived from genetics, proteins, and metabolites play key roles in clinical oncology. These molecular signatures can help predict the likelihood of OSCC development and/or progression and have the potential to detect the disease at an early stage and, support treatment decisionâmaking and predict treatment responsiveness. Also, identifying reliable biomarkers for OSCC detection that can be obtained nonâinvasively would enhance management of OSCC. This review will discuss biomarkers for OSCC that have emerged from different biological areas, including genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, metabolomics, immunomics, and microbiomics.