Diagnostic Aids and Techniques of Oral Cancer- An Updated Review

Abstract

Oral cancer is the most prevalent and lethal type with a four in every 3000 incidence rate worldwide and a 3% survival rate. Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC), which is multifactorial, is brought on by genetic and epigenetic instability. Oral potentially malignant disorders (OPMDs) are precursor lesions that often precede oral cancer, and their early diagnosis is advantageous for patients since it may lengthen their productive longevity. Currently, oral cancer screening, early identification, and its pre-invasive intraepithelial phases are still largely focused on visual inspection of the mouth. These methods are subjective and early lesions can be easily missed. Due to a lack of early identification, oral cancer's five-year survival rate is still low. Recently, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) emphasised that by developing efficient cancer control and screening strategies, we can prevent a third of the 15 million cancer cases that are expected to occur in the future and better manage a second third. Oral cancer screening aids and techniques have witnessed a lot of advancements recently. This article reviews the current diagnostic methods and instruments for detecting oral cancer, which include the oral CDx brush, Velscope, Chemiluminescence, DNA ploidy, microarray technology, colposcopy, and oral scan. It also adds on the molecular (genetic and epigenetic alterations) & decoding of the oral carcinogenesis genomics data.