ABSTRACT
Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) represents an important pathology of the upper digestive tract, being the sixth common cancer diagnosed around the world [40]. Almost 80% of oral cancer patients would have a 5-year survival rate if their disease had been detected early [28]. Although improvements have been achieved in surgical techniques, radiation therapy protocols, and chemotherapeutic regimes, oral cancer remains a lethal disease for over 50% of cases diagnosed annually, and it has one of the lowest survival rates of about 50%, within a 5-year period [8]. Despite improvements in diagnostic and therapeutic modalities and easy accessibility of the oral cavity, prognosis of patients with oral malignancies has remained poor. This is largely due to the fact that most cases of oral cancer are in advanced stages at the time of detection. Thus, early detection and diagnosis of neoplastic changes may be the best way to improve patient outcomes.
