Tracking the Trail for Better Life in Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma: A Story of Prognostic Markers

Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC), the most common malignant tumour of the oral cavity, can be easily monitored and sampled. Despite the latest advances in chemotherapy and surgery, the recurrence and morbidity rates are still high. OSCC results from multistep accumulation of heterogeneous genetic changes in squamous cells. Attention has now shifted to biomarkers as conventional clinical and histopathological method have failed to predict its biological behaviour accurately. The multimodal tumour treatment therapy usually prescribed leads to reduced quality of life, making the psychosocial consequences of OSCC worse than other malignancies. A quest for identifying prognostic markers that have a significant role to play in maintaining the wellbeing of the patient is the need for today. The purpose of this poster is to enumerate such prognostic markers available and their contribution towards early diagnosis and prognostic relevance. Keywords: Oral squamous cell carcinoma, prognostic markers