THE MOLECULAR-BIOLOGY OF ORAL CARCINOGENESIS - TOWARD A TUMOR PROGRESSION MODEL

Purpose: An understanding of the molecular basis of oval carcinogenesi s will alter our clinical approach to oral cancer, The nomenclature an d major themes of molecular oral tumor biology are reviewed, beginning with the regulation events governing normal cellular physiology, In c arcinogenesis, chromosomal or cytogenetic alterations lead to deregula tion of tightly controlled stimulatory and inhibitory pathways, growth -promoting proto-oncogenes are mutated into overactive oncogenes, and growth-suppressing or tumor suppressor genes are inactivated. Recent a dvances in defining these fundamental mechanisms of tumor biology may allow prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of oral cancer to be approa ched at the molecular level.