Prognostic significance of biomarkers in oral squamous cell carcinoma. Review
Advances in understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) have resulted in an increasing number of molecules-biomarkers that can be used for prediction of behaviour of this disease to achieve the above objective. We identified and classified 24 molecular biomarkers into five groups based on their biological functions: 1) cell cycle acceleration and pro- liferation; 2) hypoxia-inducible factors; 3) tumour suppression and apoptosis; 4) angiogenesis; 5) cell adhesion and matrix degradation. We considered articles published in PubMed-indexed journals over the past 8 years and conducted a literature review of studies examining the role of immunohistochemistry-based protein biomarkers in predicting OSCC outcome.