Gene therapy for oral squamous cell carcinoma: an overview

A potential approach to the treatment of genetic disorders is gene therapy. The goal of gene therapy is to introduce therapeutic genetic material into the target cell to exert the intended therapeutic effect. Gene therapy has already shown promising results for the treatment of monogenic disorders such as severe combined immunodeficiency and haemophilia. Now the procedure has been extended to the level of treating malignant conditions such as cancer of the lungs, breast, colon etc. The prevalence of tumours of the larynx and oral cavity has increased in both developed and developing countries. This increase underscores the need for a novel therapeutic modality that would decrease or completely terminate the proliferation of malignant cells. This review highlights various types of gene therapy procedures with respect to oral squamous cell carcinoma.