Integromics profiling of oral carcinoma: exploring the role of miRNAs and circRNAs

Ioannis Alexandros Charitos^1*Gilberto Sammartino²Sandro Rengo²Salvatore Scacco¹Marco Tatullo¹

• ¹Universita degli Studi di Bari Aldo Moro, Bari, Italy
• ²Universita degli Studi di Napoli Federico II, Naples, Italy

Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) remains a formidable challenge in modern medicine, threatening enormous number of lives worldwide. Although research is offering an exponential growth as numbers of molecular pathways, biomarkers, and potential therapeutic targets involved in cancer onset and development, the major bottleneck is represented by the identification and characterization of novel theranostic compounds. Recently developed integrative omics (referred as integromics or pan-omics) methodology is offering promising angles in this field by combining diverse datasets, such as genomic, epigenomics, transcriptomic, proteomic, lipidomics and metabolomic, with computational models and experimental findings, highly demanded for a deeper insight into the molecular mechanisms underlying cancer progression, treatment responses and resistance. In this context, non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs), such as microRNAs (miRNAs) and circular RNAs (circRNAs) can be used as targets in OSCC are emerging as bona fide targets in OSCC. Thus, these genomic techniques focus on enriching fragments related to protein-coding genes and specific regulatory RNAs, such as microRNAs. By integrating mutational databases, patient genomic and clinical data, and therapeutic action databases, this approach improves both primary and secondary prevention of cancer. Specifically, it enhances preventive effectiveness by identifying which somatic mutations in a patient's tumor can be targeted with specific therapies. MiRNAs and circRNAs, whose dysregulation is particularly evident in several stages of tumorigenesis, including metastasis and immunosuppression, alongside treatment resistance, function as regulators of gene expression. Thus, integromic studies are nowadays investigating their involvement as diagnostic biomarkers for early detection and prognosis, ultimately facilitating precision and personalized oncology, with significant improvement of patient outcomes. Additionally, the integration of advanced imaging technologies and targeted therapies, referred as theranostic, is revolutionizing the field of oncology in all its facets. Such approach improves therapy effectiveness by tackling specific characteristics, while simultaneously monitoring patient's response.