Gene Therapy For Oral Cancer - Journey To A New Horizon

The past two decades have been golden years for the genetics of cancer. It has become clear through the work of countless laboratory groups that both inherited and sporadic cancers arise through defects or misregulations of their genomes. Despite advances in surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy, the survival of patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma have not significantly improved over the past several decades. Thus, an entirely new approach to its treatment utilizing genetic aids has evolved. The majority of the head and neck cancers comprise of Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). The traditional therapies for the management of cancer and their various modifications including surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy have not refined the survival rates yet. Gene therapy represents a fundamentally new mode for the effective treatment of a disease. It essentially consists of the introduction of the genetic material into the target cells of an individual without producing toxic effects on surrounding tissues. The essence of gene therapy is attributed to the replacement of the defective gene with a normal gene, thus restoring the lost function in the patient’s body. The aim of this review is to analyze the different modalities of gene therapy currently used to manage precancerous and cancerous lesions of the oral cavity.