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Review
. 2023 Oct 4:4:1246873.
doi: 10.3389/froh.2023.1246873. eCollection 2023.

Exploring the potential of dietary factors and plant extracts as chemopreventive agents in oral squamous cell carcinoma treatment

Madhav Kumar  1 , Abhimanyu Kumar Jha  1
Affiliations
Review

Exploring the potential of dietary factors and plant extracts as chemopreventive agents in oral squamous cell carcinoma treatment

Madhav Kumar et al. Front Oral Health. .

Abstract

Oral cancer, particularly oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC), is a prevalent malignancy having a significant fatality rate worldwide. Despite advancements in conventional treatment modalities, the overall survival rate for OSCC remains low. Therefore, there is a critical need to explore alternative therapeutic approaches that can improve patient outcomes. This review focuses on the potential of dietary factors and plant extracts as chemopreventive agents in treating oral cancer. These compounds possess diverse biological functions encompassing a range of attributes, such as antioxidative, anti-inflammatory, and anticancer capabilities. By targeting multiple cellular pathways involved in carcinogenesis, they possess the capacity to hinder tumor growth and development, promote programmed cell death, and impede the progression of oral cancer. Signaling pathways targeted by natural compounds that have been included in this review include Akt/mTOR/NF-κB signaling, Hippo-Tafazzin signaling pathway, notch signaling pathway, mitochondrial pathway, and Sonic Hedgehog pathway.

Keywords: chemopreventive properties; dietary factors; oral squamous cell carcinoma; phytochemicals; plant extracts.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Summary of risk factors associated along with OSCC. These risk factors are mainly responsible for causing oral cancer.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Schematic of PI3K/AKT/mTOR/NF-κB and hippo-TAZ signaling pathway dysregulation inhibiting apoptosis and inducing oncogenesis in oral cancer.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Dietary factors and plant extracts showing anticancerous properties by regulating different signaling pathways and genes, causing programmed cell death, cell cycle arrest, autophagy, decreasing EMT etc.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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