Role of Oral Bacteria in the Development of Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma

SIMPLE SUMMARY: Oral squamous cell cancer (OSCC) is still one of the major malignant tumors of the head and neck region with dissatisfactory survival rate. Recently, based on the high-throughput sequencing technology, OSCC has been verified a close relationship with oral bacteria. Our review aims to summarize these findings and raise our perspectives. We conclude that different oral bacteria show distinct alterations in the abundance and a certain combination of various bacteria might possibly be markers for OSCC diagnosis. Besides, oral bacteria such as Porphyromonas gingivalis and Fusobacterium nucleatum can participate in most cancer-promoting pathways to assist OSCC development. Therefore, oral bacteria may be a target to provide potential methods for early diagnosis and more effective treatments. ABSTRACT: Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is an invasive epithelial neoplasm that is influenced by various risk factors, with a low survival rate and an increasing death rate. In the past few years, with the verification of the close relationship between different types of cancers and the microbiome, research has focused on the compositional changes of oral bacteria and their role in OSCC. Generally, oral bacteria can participate in OSCC development by promoting cell proliferation and angiogenesis, influencing normal apoptosis, facilitating invasion and metastasis, and assisting cancer stem cells. The study findings on the association between oral bacteria and OSCC may provide new insight into methods for early diagnosis and treatment development.