This Article Figures Only Free Full Text Free Free Full Text (Free PDF) Free An erratum has been published Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Choi, S. Articles by Myers, J.N. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Choi, S. Articles by Myers, J.N. Pubmed/NCBI databases Medline Plus Health Information Genes and Gene Therapy Oral Cancer Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

Molecular Pathogenesis of Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma: Implications for Therapy

Department of Head and Neck Surgery, The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, 1515 Holcombe Boulevard, Unit 44, Houston, TX 77030-4009, USA

Correspondence: ^* corresponding author, jmyers{at}mdanderson.org

The development of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is a multistep process requiring the accumulation of multiple genetic alterations, influenced by a patient’s genetic predisposition as well as by environmental influences, including tobacco, alcohol, chronic inflammation, and viral infection. Tumorigenic genetic alterations consist of two major types: tumor suppressor genes, which promote tumor development when inactivated; and oncogenes, which promote tumor development when activated. Tumor suppressor genes can be inactivated through genetic events such as mutation, loss of heterozygosity, or deletion, or by epigenetic modifications such as DNA methylation or chromatin remodeling. Oncogenes can be activated through overexpression due to gene amplification, increased transcription, or changes in structure due to mutations that lead to increased transforming activity. This review focuses on the molecular mechanisms of oral carcinogenesis and the use of biologic therapy to specifically target molecules altered in OSCC. The rapid progress that has been made in our understanding of the molecular alterations contributing to the development of OSCC is leading to improvements in the early diagnosis of tumors and the refinement of biologic treatments individualized to the specific characteristics of a patient’s tumor.

Key Words: oral squamous cell carcinoma • multistep carcinogenesis • oncogene • tumor suppressor gene • molecular targeted therapy

Journal of Dental Research, Vol. 87, No. 1, 14-32 (2008)
DOI: 10.1177/154405910808700104


CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

				T. Chiba, G. Maeda, S. Kawashiri, K. Kato, and K. Imai Epigenetic Loss of Mucosa-Associated Lymphoid Tissue 1 Expression in Patients with Oral Carcinomas Cancer Res., September 15, 2009; 69(18): 7216 - 7223. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				Y.-L. Chung, M.-Y. Lee, and N. N.M. Pui Epigenetic therapy using the histone deacetylase inhibitor for increasing therapeutic gain in oral cancer: prevention of radiation-induced oral mucositis and inhibition of chemical-induced oral carcinogenesis Carcinogenesis, August 1, 2009; 30(8): 1387 - 1397. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				S. Yuvaraj, A. C. Griffin, K. Sundaram, K. L. Kirkwood, J. S. Norris, and S. V. Reddy A Novel Function of CXCL13 to Stimulate RANK Ligand Expression in Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma Cells Mol. Cancer Res., August 1, 2009; 7(8): 1399 - 1407. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				S.P. Barros and S. Offenbacher Epigenetics: Connecting Environment and Genotype to Phenotype and Disease Journal of Dental Research, May 1, 2009; 88(5): 400 - 408. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				L. Jiang, H.S. Yang, Z. Wang, Y. Zhou, M. Zhou, X. Zeng, and Q.M. Chen ORAOV1-A Correlates with Poor Differentiation in Oral Cancer Journal of Dental Research, May 1, 2009; 88(5): 433 - 438. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				A. Gelbard, M. E. Kupferman, S. A. Jasser, W. Chen, A. K. El-Naggar, J. N. Myers, and E. Y. Hanna An Orthotopic Murine Model of Sinonasal Malignancy Clin. Cancer Res., November 15, 2008; 14(22): 7348 - 7357. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]