Retinoid actions and implications for prevention and therapy of oral cancer

Squamous cell carcinomas of the oral cavity can be preceded by clinically obvious premalignant changes, and they have a high rate of incidence of development of second primary tumors. Recent studies suggest retinoids not only for the treatment of oral eukoplakia, but also for the prevention of second primaries. Although retinoids are promising therapeutic agents, their therapeutic potential has been limited by their undesirable side-effects. A complete network of nuclear receptors has now been identified that mediate the action of retinoids and can interfere directly with cell proliferation signals by interacting with transcription factors. It has recently been shown that retinoids with receptor-selective activities can be obtained that are likely to have fewer side-effects because of their restricted biologic activities.