Applied Sciences (May 2022)

Comprehensive Review on Development of Early Diagnostics on Oral Cancer with a Special Focus on Biomarkers

  • Vidhya Rekha Umapathy,
  • Prabhu Manickam Natarajan,
  • Bhuminathan Swamikannu

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/app12104926
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 12, no. 10
p. 4926

Abstract

Read online

One of the most frequent head and neck cancers is oral cancer, with less than half of those diagnosed surviving five years. Despite breakthroughs in the treatment of many other cancers, the prognosis for people with OSCC remains dismal. The conventional methods of detection include a thorough clinical examination, biochemical investigations, and invasive biopsies. Early identification and treatment are important for a better chance of extending a patient’s life. Early diagnosis may be possible by identifying biomarkers in biological fluids. Currently, the primary method for diagnosing oral lesions is a visual oral examination; however, such a technique has certain drawbacks, as individuals are recognized after their cancer has advanced to a severe degree. The first section of this review discusses several diagnostic techniques for cancer detection, while the second section discusses the present state of knowledge about known existing predictive markers for the timely identification of malignant lesions, as well as disease activity tracking. The aim of the paper is to conduct a critical review of existing oral cancer diagnostic processes and to consider the possible application of innovative technology for early detection. This might broaden our diagnostic choices and enhance our capacity to identify and treat oral malignant tumors more effectively.

Keywords