Oral Oncology Reports最新文献

Background

Malignant potential of Oral Lichen Planus (OLP) is underestimated and given less importance. Only few studies were noted explaining the pathogenesis involved in its cancer progression.

Aim

The aim of the study is to bring in a spotlight for masquerading the role of TGF-β by determining its expression using immunohistochemistry in the malignant transformation of oral lichen planus.

Materials and methods

This systematic review followed PRISMA guidelines and criteria. Electronic literature searches were carried out in databases MEDLINE (via PubMed) and Google Scholar to identify studies that matched the following MESH Terms (Expression AND TGF-β AND oral lichen planus) for identifying articles published between 2008 t0 2021. Manually searched for the references and citations of the identified articles for further research studies.

Results

All the articles included in this study included TGF-β and its related protein expression in both its pathogenesis and cancer growth.This help to bring in newer and targeted treated options.

Conclusion

Role of TGF in lichen planus was briefly studied and it was concluded that TGF-β played a major role in its malignant transformation. To discover the role TGFβ in the maintenance of chronic tonicity of the disease and thereby unmasking its function in malignant transformation of OLP a systematic review is done. This systematic review accumulates all the possible effects of TGF-β in malignant transformation of oral lichen planus. So thereby it helps in developing novel targeted therapy to shield the lesion from its carcinomatous transformation.

Oral cancer, which is a kind of HNSCC, presents considerable experimental difficulties because of its high rates of illness and death, often being identified at late stages. Although there have been improvements in conventional treatments such surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy, the outlook for patients is quiet unfavourable, with a five-year survival rate of around 50 %. Oral cancer has a complex origin that encompasses several variables. These include risk factors such as tobacco use, alcohol intake, and infection with human papillomavirus (HPV), as well as genetic predispositions and environmental effects. Immunotherapy has become a potential approach to treating cancer by using the immune system to specifically target cancer cells, in contrast to traditional therapies that directly assault tumours. This study examines the current immunotherapy approaches in the field of oral oncology, specifically focusing on immune checkpoint inhibitors, adoptive cell treatment, and cancer vaccines. The article explores the difficulties posed by the immunosuppressive tumour microenvironment and the need for patient-specific biomarkers to assess therapy response. The future focus is on personalized medicine and innovative therapeutic strategies, with the goal of maximizing the effectiveness of therapy and improving patient outcomes in the management of oral cancer. Ongoing research and clinical studies are essential to fully harness the promise of immunotherapy, providing fresh optimism in the battle against this intricate disease.

Head and neck cancers are being diagnosed more frequently in elderly patients and at advanced stages. In these cases, standard treatment methods are often not feasible due to patient frailty and malnutrition. A few trials have demonstrated the safety and effectiveness of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) as neoadjuvant therapy for locally advanced oral cancer. We present the case of a 51-year-old male patient who had locally advanced oral cavity cancer that was treated with the combination of pembrolizumab and weekly carboplatin and paclitaxel. This treatment resulted in a major pathological response, leading to a significant reduction in tumor size and allowing for surgical treatment. In addition, the patient remains free of locoregional disease nine months after the surgery. Clinical trials are essential to investigate the viability of this potentially less toxic and more convenient combined therapy in patients with advanced squamous cell carcinoma of the oral cavity.

The COVID-19 pandemic prompted significant adaptations in educational practices at Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, including the integration of e-learning and virtual education modalities. In response to an observed increase in advanced-stage oral cancer cases post-2020, we developed new educational strategies aimed at OC prevention and awareness. This study presents our experience with an innovative undergraduate program focusing on Oral Oncology and Oral Potentially Malignant Disorders. Two elective courses were integrated into the curriculum, featuring contributions from Oral Medicine and Pathology experts across several Latin American countries via virtual platforms. Each course provided comprehensive training, including clinical practice and telemedicine protocols for early lesion identification. A total of 107 students successfully completed the courses, highlighting the program's effectiveness in enhancing student engagement and competence in OC prevention. Recommendations from this initiative include reinforcing undergraduate curricula with OC-focused education and promoting international collaboration in higher education for comprehensive training. Future research should assess the long-term impact of such programs on early OC diagnosis and patient referral practices.

Objective

Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and Tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases (TIMPs) are involved in the turnover of extracellular matrix (ECM) components. Overexpression of MMPs facilitates tumour progression by promoting ECM turnover, angiogenesis, and cell migration. Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) exhibits significant upregulation of multiple MMPs and TIMPs, correlating with poor prognosis, using bioinformatics tools to analyse the expression profiles and prognostic significance of MMPs and TIMPs in HNSCC.

Materials and methods

GEPIA and UALCAN databases were used to analyse the expression of MMPs and TIMPs in HNSCC tissues. Immunohistochemistry confirmed high protein levels of several MMPs in tumour samples. GeneMANIA, STRING, and Metascape analyses highlighted key functional relationships and pathways enriched in MMPs and TIMPs. Kaplan-Meier survival analyses were conducted to assess the prognostic significance of TIMPs in HNSCC.

Results

The study found significant overexpression of MMP1, MMP2, MMP3, MMP9, and MMP14 in HNSCC tissues. Immunohistochemistry confirmed elevated protein levels of these MMPs in tumour samples. PPI network analyses indicated crucial interactions among MMPs and their regulatory pathways. TIMP1 was significantly upregulated in HNSCC, while TIMP3 downregulation correlated with increased MMP activity and tumour progression. According to Kaplan-Meier survival analyses, higher TIMP expression was associated with poor overall survival in HNSCC patients.

Conclusion

This comprehensive study emphasises the dysregulation of MMPs and TIMPs in HNSCC, proposing them as potential biomarkers for early diagnosis and prognostic evaluation and suggesting them as therapeutic targets to improve clinical outcomes in HNSCC patients.

Oral cancer and its treatment have major implications on a patient, including physical as well as psychological barriers to a patient's life which can significantly hinder a patient's rehabilitation process. Surgical interventions along with chemotherapy can cause major psychological and physical distress to a patient. Thereupon it is important to understand these issues so that they can be treated and rehabilitated smoothly and successfully. Major databases including- ScienceDirect, PubMed, Google Scholar were searched, and relevant peer reviewed papers and articles were extracted for the review, furthermore, reference screening was also conducted. Some of the physical issues involved mucositis, facial aesthetics impairment, voice impairment, reduced mobility of lips, tongue and overall buccal region, which lead to psychological issues including depression, eating disorders, anxiety, public avoidance, social isolation and so on. Effective rehabilitation of the patients is essential as it will predict their quality of life thus helping them return to their normal functioning after treatment. Large sample empirical studies are required to test the effectiveness of various psychotherapies used to alleviate these bottleneck issues and focus should be given on improving the patient's psychological quality of life.

Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is a major global health concern even with the developments in conventional therapies of cancer. This editorial aims to review the current genetic and molecular data of OSCC treatment with an emphasis on the Programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1)/ligand PD-L1 pathway and novel biomarkers. Research shows that PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors have the possibility to be used in OSCC treatment, and they mainly focus on improving immune functions. In this regard, salivary biomarkers provide early detection approaches with high sensitivity, especially chemerin and matrix metalloproteinase (MMP-9). Immune cell dynamics and personalized immunotherapy are important to be understood to achieve better therapeutic results. Some of them are tumor relapse, and the requirement of accurate prognostic indicators and diagnostic tests. Personalized medicine is one of the possibilities of using genetic knowledge in therapy. Some of the important areas for future research include improving the methods of early diagnosis, as well as identifying the possibilities of applying the concept of personalized medicine. Multicentre and cooperative work are essential for further improvement of the treatment of OSCC. Genetic and molecular studies provide a hope for better OSCC treatments and thus better patient outcomes worldwide.

We performed a systematic review of phase I trials specifically conducted for patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma published between January 1, 2008 and August 31, 2023. PubMed and Cochrane Library databases were searched using a combination of terms: “((head and neck) OR (head & neck)) AND ((cancer*) OR (tumor*) OR (tumour*) OR (neoplasm*) OR (carcinoma*) OR (malignan*)) AND ((phase 1) OR (phase I))"to identify phase I dose-finding trials including a majority of lymphoma patients.

Eighty-five trials (H&N patients N = 1714) were included. Among them, 53 trials complying with inclusion/exclusion criteria and were included in the current analysis: 32 (60 %) enrolled only patients with head and neck cancer, while 21 (40 %) included also patients with other solid tumors.

The median rate of grade 3-4 adverse events was 41 %. With regards to clinical activity, the median response rate (RR) was 16 %, which is in line with the usually reported rate for phase I trials enrolling unselected populations of patients with solid tumors.