title: The role of hypoxia in oral cancer and potentially malignant disorders: a review.
abstract: Oral and oropharyngeal cancer are major health problems globally with over 500 000 new cases diagnosed annually. Despite the fact that oral cancer is a preventable disease and has the potential for early detection, the overall survival rate remains at around 50%. Most oral cancer cases are preceded by a group of clinical lesions designated 'potentially malignant disorders'. It is difficult to predict if and when these lesions may transform to malignancy, and in turn it is difficult to agree on appropriate management strategies. Understanding underlying molecular pathways would help in predicting the malignant transformation of oral potentially malignant disorders and ultimately identifying effective methods for early detection and prevention of oral cancer. Reprogramming energy metabolism is an emerging hallmark of cancer that is predominantly controlled by hypoxia-induced genes regulating angiogenesis, tumour vascularization, invasion, drug resistance and metastasis. This review aims to highlight the role of hypoxia in oral carcinogenesis and to suggest future research implications in this arena.
authors: School of Dentistry, Oral Health Centre, The University of Western Australia, Nedlands, WA, Australia.|Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Sciences, Al-Farabi Colleges, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
authors: Omar
authors: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5951-8280
authors: O
authors: Kujan
authors: School of Dentistry, Oral Health Centre, The University of Western Australia, Nedlands, WA, Australia.
authors: Kate
authors: K
authors: Shearston
authors: School of Dentistry, Oral Health Centre, The University of Western Australia, Nedlands, WA, Australia.|Australian Centre for Oral Oncology Research & Education, School of Dentistry, The University of Western Australia, Nedlands, WA, Australia.
authors: Camile S
authors: CS
authors: Farah
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D063646:Carcinogenesis / Q000378:metabolism; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000209:etiology / Q000378:metabolism; D002471:Cell Transformation, Neoplastic / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D000860:Hypoxia / Q000150:complications* / Q000378:metabolism; D009062:Mouth Neoplasms / Q000209:etiology* / Q000378:metabolism
keywords: hypoxia; leukoplakia; oral potentially malignant disorders; oral squamous cell carcinoma; review; submucous fibrosis