title: Early detection and personalized treatment in oral cancer: the impact of omics approaches.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Oral cancer is one of the most common malignant lesions of the head and neck. This cancer is an aggressive and lethal disease with no significant improvements in the overall survival in the last decades. Moreover, the incidence of oral HPV-positive tumors is rising, especially in young people. This oral neoplasm develops through numerous molecular imbalances that affect key genes and signaling pathways; however, the molecular mechanisms involved in the pathogenesis and progression of oral tumors are still to be fully determined. In order to improve the quality of life and long-term survival rate of these patients, it is vital to establish accurate biomarkers that help in the early diagnosis, prognosis and development of target treatments. Such biomarkers may possibly allow for selection of patients that will benefit from each therapy modality, helping in the optimization of intensity and sequence of the treatments in order to decrease side effects and improve survival.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In this review we discuss the current knowledge of oral cancer and the potential role of omics approaches to identify molecular biomarkers in the improvement of early diagnosis, treatment and prognosis. The pursuit to improve the quality of life and decrease mortality rates of the oral patients needs to be centralized on the identification of critical genes in oral carcinogenesis. Understanding the molecular biology of oral cancer is vital for search new therapies, being the molecular-targeted therapies the most promising treatment for these patients.
authors.affiliation: Cytogenetics and Genomics Laboratory, Faculty of Medicine, University of Coimbra, Polo Ciências da Saúde, Coimbra, 3000-354 Portugal ; CIMAGO - Center of Investigation on Environment Genetics and Oncobiology - Faculty of Medicine, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, 3000-354 Portugal.
authors.forename: Ilda Patrícia
authors.initials: IP
authors.lastname: Ribeiro
authors.affiliation: Maxillofacial Surgery Unit, Coimbra Hospital and University Centre, CHUC, EPE, Coimbra, 3000-075 Portugal.
authors.forename: Leonor
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Barroso
authors.affiliation: Department of Dentistry, Faculty of Medicine, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, 3000-075 Portugal ; Stomatology Unit, Coimbra Hospital and University Centre, CHUC, EPE, Coimbra, 3000-075 Portugal.
authors.forename: Francisco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Marques
authors.affiliation: Cytogenetics and Genomics Laboratory, Faculty of Medicine, University of Coimbra, Polo Ciências da Saúde, Coimbra, 3000-354 Portugal ; CIMAGO - Center of Investigation on Environment Genetics and Oncobiology - Faculty of Medicine, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, 3000-354 Portugal.
authors.forename: Joana Barbosa
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Melo
authors.affiliation: Cytogenetics and Genomics Laboratory, Faculty of Medicine, University of Coimbra, Polo Ciências da Saúde, Coimbra, 3000-354 Portugal ; CIMAGO - Center of Investigation on Environment Genetics and Oncobiology - Faculty of Medicine, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, 3000-354 Portugal.
authors.forename: Isabel Marques
authors.initials: IM
authors.lastname: Carreira
keywords: Early diagnosis; Molecular biomarkers; Molecular profiling; Omics data; Oral cancer