OMICS, Oral Cancer Molecular Landscapes, and Clinical Practice

Molecular pathogenesis of oral cancers continues to be researched by omics systems science biotechnologies. Oral cancers rank as the 13th most common cancer globally. Notably, the burden of oral cancers from the Asian continent is 56.21%, with 26% of the burden contributed by India. Despite easy accessibility of the oral cavity and hence early detection of oral cancers, majority are diagnosed in advanced stages in the Asian countries. Innovation in oral cancer diagnostics, as well as theranostics for precision medicine, would aid their early diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment, not to mention discovery of novel molecular targets for drug development. This expert review offers an analysis of oral cancer biomarkers, including somatic mutations, deregulated expression, epigenetic regulation, and genomic variants associated with oral cancer. We also discuss the implications of the current and emerging oral cancer biomarkers with a view to clinical practice, global health, and make suggestions for the ways forward.