REVIEW article
Front. Immunol.
Sec. Cancer Immunity and Immunotherapy
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2025.1626243
This article is part of the Research TopicMolecular Pathways and Signaling Molecules in Cancer Therapy: Advances and InnovationsView all 6 articles
Unravelling Molecular Mechanism of Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma and Genetic Landscape: An Insight into Disease Complexity, Available Therapies, and Future Considerations
Provisionally accepted
Salima Shebbo1
Nooralhuda Alateyah2Esraa Yassin3
Doaa Elsayed Mahmoud4
Faleh Tamimi1
Lamyia Anweigi1Abdelbary Elhissi2
Haissam Abou-Saleh2
Mohamed A. Elrayess3
Abdelali Agouni5*- 1College of Dental Medicine, QU Health, Qatar University, P.O. Box 2713, Doha, Qatar
- 2Department of Biomedical Sciences, College of Health Sciences, QU Health, Qatar University, P.O. Box 2713, Doha, Qatar
- 3Biomedical Research Center, QU Health, Qatar University, P.O. Box 2713, Doha, Qatar
- 4Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, QU Health, Qatar University, P.O. Box 2713, Doha, Qatar
- 5Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, Qatar University, Doha, Qatar
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Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is a heterogeneous malignant neoplasm characterized by intricate molecular pathways and a varied genetic landscape, resulting in a diminished 5-year survival rate. Due to this complexity, many trials of emerging therapies are failing to improve the outcome and survival rate of OSCC, posing a great challenge in the management of this cancer. This review examines the key molecular pathways, genetic susceptibility, and the influence of the microbiome in the advancement of OSCC. Furthermore, it analyses contemporary therapeutic approaches, their limitations, and prospects, especially the incorporation of immunotherapy. The discussion will also encompass the difficulties in turning research findings into successful therapeutic applications and enhancing the patient's quality of life.
Keywords: Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC), molecular pathways, genetic predisposition, Immunotherapy, Therapeutic challenges
Received: 10 May 2025; Accepted: 21 Jul 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Shebbo, Alateyah, Yassin, Mahmoud, Tamimi, Anweigi, Elhissi, Abou-Saleh, Elrayess and Agouni. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Abdelali Agouni, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, Qatar University, Doha, Qatar
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.