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Theranostics 2017; 7(17):4313-4321. doi:10.7150/thno.21804 This issue Cite

Review

Oral Microbiome: A New Biomarker Reservoir for Oral and Oropharyngeal Cancers

Yenkai Lim^{1, 2}, Makrina Totsika¹, Mark Morrison³, Chamindie Punyadeera^{1, 2✉}

1. The School of Biomedical Sciences, Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovations, Queensland University of Technology, 60 Musk Avenue, Kelvin Grove, Brisbane, QLD 4059, Australia;
2. The Translational Research Institute, 37 Kent Street, Woolloongabba, Brisbane, QLD, 4102, Australia;
3. The University of Queensland Diamantina Institute, The University of Queensland, Translational Research Institute, 37 Kent Street, Woolloongabba, Brisbane, QLD, 4102, Australia.

✉ Corresponding author: Associate Professor Chamindie Punyadeera, The School of Biomedical Sciences, Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovations, Queensland University of Technology, 60 Musk Avenue, GPO Box 2434, Brisbane QLD 4059, Australia. +61 7 3138 0830 More

Abstract

Current biomarkers (DNA, RNA and protein) for oral cavity and oropharyngeal cancers demonstrate biological variations between individuals, rendering them impractical for clinical translation. Whilst these biomarkers originate from the host, there is not much information in the literature about the influence of oral microbiota on cancer pathogenesis, especially in oral cancers. Oral microbiotas are known to participate in disease initiation and progression not only limited to the oral cavity, but also at other distant sites. Due to the close proximity of oral microbiota and oral cavity and oropharyngeal tumours, abundance changes in oral microbiota may provide useful information on tumourigenesis. This review aims to highlight information on the role of oral microbiota in oral cavity and oropharyngeal cancers. An in-depth analysis into the oral microbiota may provide a new avenue to diagnose and treat these patients.

Keywords: biomarker, oral and oropharyngeal cancers, oral microbiome.

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