Chemopreventive Agents in Oral Premalignancy: A Medical Management Review

The term chemoprevention denotes the use of specific natural or synthetic chemical agents to prevent carcinogenesis. Chemoprevention may help delay the process of carcinogen activation and prevent the conversion of preneoplastic cells. These agents play an active role in the secondary level of prevention and reduce malignancy-associated morbidity and mortality. A new term, "prophylactic antioxidant therapy," was coined and proposed. This review has assessed all major chemopreventive agents used for oral premalignancy and malignant conditions, which will reduce the economic burden on the patients.

A systematic literature search was performed using PubMed, Medline, Embase, Cochrane Library, and EBSCO search, with language restriction to English. The search incorporated published literature from 1990 to 2018 using the medical subject heading terms. Literature search was performed using the following keywords: Chemoprevention, Premalignancy, and Oral Malignancy.

Of 99 publications related to the search strategy, 45 full articles relevant to the chemopreventive agents in premalignacy and oral malignancy were acquired for further inspection. Of the 45 articles, 30 met the inclusion criteria. Data were collected, and a brief summary of the studies regarding different chemopreventive agents that were most commonly used in oral premalignancy and malignancies was written.

This review suggests administration of major chemopreventive agents for superior prognosis in individuals with an elevated risk of premalignancy and malignancy.