The therapeutic effects of mesenchymal stem cells and their secretome on oral squamous cell carcinoma

Atefe Ataei; Majid Azizi; Samira Hajisadeghi; Mojan Madani; Mozhgan Khorami; Sahar Hassantash; Sahand Saeidpour Masouleh; Ghasem Barati

doi:10.2174/1566524023666230627151809

The therapeutic effects of mesenchymal stem cells and their secretome on oral squamous cell carcinoma

Curr Mol Med. 2023 Jun 27. doi: 10.2174/1566524023666230627151809. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Atefe Ataei¹, Majid Azizi¹, Samira Hajisadeghi², Mojan Madani³, Mozhgan Khorami⁴, Sahar Hassantash⁵, Sahand Saeidpour Masouleh⁶, Ghasem Barati⁷

Affiliations

¹ Department of Periodontics, School of Dentistry, Birjand University of Medical Sciences, Birjand, Iran.
² Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Medicine, School of Dentistry, Qom University of Medical Sciences, Qom, Iran.
³ Orthodontics Department, Dental Faculty, Arak UNDUniversity of Medical Sciences, Arak, Iran.
⁴ Faculty of Dentistry, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.
⁵ Faculty of Dentistry, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
⁶ Department of Medical Biotechnologies, University of Siena, 53100 Siena, Italy.
⁷ Department of Medical Biotechnology, School of Medicine, Zanjan University of Medical Sciences, Zanjan, Iran.

PMID: 37366360
DOI: 10.2174/1566524023666230627151809

Abstract

Oral cancers are prevalent in the human population, particularly in unindustrialized countries. In 90 % of oral cancers, the tumors arise from squamous cells, which is called oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). Despite new treatment strategies, the morbidity and mortality rates are still high. Current treatment options including surgery, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy are not effective in the treatment of the tumor. Cell therapy with mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) is considered one of the leading strategies in cancer treatment. However, the field of MSC therapy in OSCC is immature and ongoing studies are being conducted in experimental and pre-clinical studies. Here, we reviewed these studies to figure out whether the use of MSCs could be worthwhile in OSCC therapy or not. Both native and engineered MSCs as well as their secretome have been used in the treatment of OSCC. It seems that genetically modified MSCs or their secretome could inhibit the tumorigenesis of OSCC. However, further pre-clinical studies are required to come to a conclusion.

Keywords: Drug loading; Extracellular vesicles; Genetically modified stem cells; Mesenchymal stem cells; Oral squamous cell carcinoma; Stem cell secretome.