Personalized Medicine in Oral Oncology: Imaging Methods and Biological Markers to Support Diagnosis of Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma (OSCC): A Narrative Literature Review

Sep 24, 2026

Uploaded by Adam

For decades, oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) has been a leading cause of cancer morbidity and mortality worldwide. Current diagnosis relies mainly on histopathology, yet early-stage detection remains difficult despite recognizable precursors and multifactorial biology. This narrative multidisciplinary review surveys conventional OSCC prognostic indicators linked to pTNM stage and explores promising imaging modalities (CT, MRI, US-echography) and tissue/salivary biomarkers that may improve diagnosis and risk stratification, while noting that a concrete clinical protocol is not yet established.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

FormatPDF

Pages32

Reading Time1 h 21 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Review Focus and Rationale

Prognostic Indicators and pTNM-Related Factors

Imaging Modalities (CT, MRI, Ultrasound)

Tissue and Salivary Biomarkers

Clinical Implications and Future Directions

Review Personalized Medicine in Oral Oncology: Imaging Methods and Biological Markers to Support Diagnosis of Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma (OSCC): A Narrative Literature Review Dardo Menditti 1, Mario Santagata 1, Gianmaria Imola 1, Samuel Staglianá 1, Rita Vitagliano 1, *, Ciro Emiliano Boschetti 1,† and Angelo Michele Inchingolo 2,† Citation: Menditti, D.; Santagata, M.; Imola, G.; Staglianò, S.; Vitagliano, R.; Boschetti, C.E.; Inchingolo, A.M. Personalized Medicine in Oral Oncology: Imaging Methods and Biological Markers to Support Diagnosis of Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma (OSCC): A Narrative Literature Review. J. Pers. Med. 2023, 13, 1397. [https://doi.org/10.3390/](https://doi.org/10.3390/)[ ](https://doi.org/10.3390/)jpm13091397 Academic Editor: Luca Testarelli Received: 29 June 2023 Revised: 8 September 2023 Accepted: 15 September 2023 Published: 19 September 2023 Copyright: © 2023 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license ([https://](https://)[ ](https://)[creativecommons.org/licenses/by/](creativecommons.org/licenses/by/)[ ](creativecommons.org/licenses/by/)[4.0/](4.0/)) . 1 Multidisciplinary Department of Medical-Surgical and Dental Specialties, University of Campania Luigi Vanvitelli, 80138 Naples, Italy; dardo.menditti@unicampania.it (D.M.); [mario.santagata@unicampania.it](mario.santagata@unicampania.it) (M.S.); [gianmaria.imola@studenti.unicampania.it](gianmaria.imola@studenti.unicampania.it) (G.I.); [samuel.stagliano@studenti.unicampania.it](samuel.stagliano@studenti.unicampania.it) (S.S.); [ciroemiliano.boschetti@unicampania.it](ciroemiliano.boschetti@unicampania.it) (C.E.B.) 2 Department of Interdisciplinary Medicine, University of Bari “Aldo Moro”, 70124 Bari, Italy; [angeloinchingolo@gmail.com](angeloinchingolo@gmail.com) * Correspondence: rita.vitagliano@studenti.unicampania.it; Tel.: +39-327-1321309 † These authors contributed equally to this work. Abstract: For decades, oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) has been one of the most prevalent and mortal cancers worldwide. The gold standard for OSCC diagnosis is still histopathology but this narrative multidisciplinary review has the aim to explore the literature about conventional OSCC prognostic indicators related to the pTNM stage at the diagnosis such as the depth of invasion and the lymphovascular invasion associated with distant metastasis as indicators of poor life expectancy. Despite its multifactorial nature and recognizable precursors, its diagnosis at the early stages is still challenging. We wanted to highlight the importance of the screening as a primary weapon that astomatologist should consider, intercepting all at-risk conditions and lesions associated with OSCC and its early stages. This narrative review also overviews the most promising imaging techniques, such as CT, MRI, and US-echography, and their application related to clinical and surgical practice, but also the most-investigated prognostic and diagnostic tissue and salivary biomarkers helpful in OSCC diagnosis and prognostic assessment. Our work highlighted remarkable potential biomarkers that could have a leading role in the future. However, we are still far from deﬁning an appropriate and concrete protocol to apply in clinical practice. The hope is that the present and future research will overcome these limitations to beneﬁt patients, clinicians, and welfare. Keywords: OSCC; oral carcinoma; imaging; diagnosis; prognosis; confocal microscopy; optical coherence tomography; ultrasounds; biomarkers; histology; metabolomic; microbiome 1. Introduction The oral cavity may be affected by various malignant neoplasias, mainly of epithelial origin, such as oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) and lymphoepithelial carcinoma [1], but also those arising from the derailment of oral melanocytes (oral melanomas) [2] and

FAQs

What is the main goal of this narrative literature review on OSCC?

The review aims to explore literature on conventional OSCC prognostic indicators related to the pTNM stage and to assess imaging methods and biological markers supporting OSCC diagnosis and prognostic evaluation.

Why is early OSCC diagnosis still challenging?

Early-stage diagnosis is difficult despite identifiable precursors and multifactorial disease characteristics, and the gold standard diagnosis still depends on histopathology.

Which imaging techniques and biomarker types are highlighted?

The review discusses imaging techniques including CT, MRI, and ultrasound, and it covers investigated tissue and salivary biomarkers that could support diagnostic and prognostic assessment.

Sep 24, 2026

Uploaded by Adam