Background: Head and neck cancers are the seventh most common type of cancer worldwide, with almost half of the cases affecting the oral cavity. Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is the most common form of oral cancer, showing poor prognosis and high mortality. OSCC molecular pathogenesis is complex, resulting from a wide range of events that involve the interplay between genetic mutations and altered levels of transcripts, proteins, and metabolites. Metabolomics is a recently developed sub-area of omics sciences focused on the comprehensive analysis of small molecules involved in several biological pathways by high throughput technologies.
Aim of review: This review summarizes and evaluates studies focused on the metabolomics analysis of OSCC and oral premalignant disorders to better interpret the complex process of oral carcinogenesis. Additionally, the metabolic biomarkers signatures identified so far are also included. Moreover, we discuss the limitations of these studies and make suggestions for future investigations.
Key scientific concepts: Although many questions about the metabolic features of OSCC have already been answered in metabolomic studies, further validation and optimization are still required to translate these findings into clinical applications.
Keywords: Biomarkers; Mass spectrometry; Metabolites; Metabolomics; Oral cancer; Oral potentially malignant disorders; Oral squamous cell carcinoma.