Moleculobiological characteristics of oral squamous cell carcinomas

Abstract

Oral squamous cell carcinomas (OSCCs) are associated with poor prognosis, and despite advances in therapy approaches, no major improvement in survival has been achieved in the recent years. Efforts are now directed toward finding new biological markers that could predict tumor behavior more accurately. OSCCs, as the majority of malignant tumors, arise from progressive accumulation of genetic and epigenetic lesions, transforming normal cells into malignant. In this paper, an analysis of current studies directed to understanding the underlying mechanisms of OSCC pathogenesis was presented. The emphasis was put on mutational analysis of cancer genes, as well as on the role of viral infections and methylation processes in OSCC. Finally, an overview of studies that tried to determine the possibility for developing OSCC was given.

Oralne skvamocelularne karcinome (OSCK) odlikuje uglavnom loša prognoza i, uprkos pomacima u terapijskim postupcima, poslednjih godina nije ostvaren napredak u preživljavanju osoba s ovim tumorom. Velike nade se polažu u molekularnu medicinu i pronalaženje novih bioloških markera pomoću kojih bi preciznije nego što to dopuštaju klinički i histopatološki parametri moglo da se predvidi ponašanje tumora. OSCK, kao i većina drugih malignih oboljenja, rezultat su postupne akumulacije raznovrsnih genetičkih i epigenetičkih promena u ćelijama, koje od normalnih postaju neoplastične. U ovom radu dat je presek nekih od pravaca istraživanja na polju molekularne biologije oralnih karcinoma, s osvrtom na studije koje se bave ispitivanjem somatskih mutacija u kancerskim genima, učešćem onkogenih virusa u patogenezi i značaju procesa metilacije za OSCK. Takođe su pomenute studije posvećene utvrđivanju eventualnog postojanja predispozicije za razvoj OSCK.