Nanomaterials: Promising structures for the management of oral cancer

Abstract

Oral cancer is the sixth most common cancer in the world with an estimated 300,000 new cases and 150,000 deaths annually. It is one of the growing causes of morbidity and mortality especially in South Asia, Europe, and North and South America. Tobacco use, alcohol consumption, and inadequate oral hygiene are the most common risk factors. The main therapeutic approaches are surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy, and combined treatments, which may generally lead to serious adverse effects and complications. Moreover, a remarkably poor prognosis with a significant decrease in locoregional control and survival may develop especially in patients with advanced stages, even after application of current treatment modalities. Therefore, diagnosis of oral cancer at early stage is utmost important. Unfortunately, conventional diagnostic and treatment techniques remain far from optimal. Recently, nanotechnology offer new strategies in cancer management: (1) early detection of cancers via probes and biosensors, (2) better diagnosis and staging via improving the imaging systems, (3) nanoscale drug delivery systems, which may provide a significant decrease in adverse effects and toxicities of chemotherapeutics, and (4) nanotheranostics that integrate both diagnosis and therapy simultaneously. This chapter presents the role and potential effectiveness of using nanomaterials in different aspects of oral cancer. © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.