DOI: 10.36347/sjds.2020.v07i12.001

Pages: 196-200

Oral squamous cell carcinoma of head and neck is associated with high morbidity and mortality in both western and Asian countries. The development of oral squamous cell carcinoma is a multistep process, which requires the accumulation of multiple genetic alternations and is influenced by a patient’s genetic predisposition as well as by environmental factors such as tobacco, alcohol, chronic inflammation and viral infection. Targeted therapies are specific method which interferes with some aspects of cellular life without harming healthy cells and hence they will work by interfering with specific molecules involved in carcinogenesis and tumour growth. Thus by altering molecular and cellular changes that are specific to cancer, molecular targeted therapies may be more effective than conventional therapies i.e. radiation, surgery and chemotherapy. The use of molecular targeted therapies is relatively new and new discoveries are emerging at a rapid pace. This paper will discuss the history of molecular targeted therapy and its present scenario in oral squamous cell carcinoma.