Circulating tumor cells in oral squamous cell carcinoma-an enigma or reality?

Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is ranking 1(st) among males and 4(th) among females in India. In spite of major advances in diagnosis and treatment of OSCC, survival rates, have remained poor. Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) in the blood stream, play an important role in establishing metastases. It is important to identify patients suffering from nonlocalized tumor with "circulating" tumor cells to determine the tailor made, systemic therapy in addition to local resection and irradiation. Thus, detecting metastases at an early stage are needed for better prognosis and survival. CTCs as new prognostic marker to detect the metastatic potential will provide a novel insight into tumor burden and efficacy of therapy. The recent advances and its application in OSCC will be reviewed.