Noninvasive procedures for diagnosing oral squamous cell carcinoma - current concepts and future

Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) has a remarkably high incidence worldwide, and a fairly serious prognosis, encouraging further research into advanced technologies for noninvasive methods of making early diagnosis, ideally in primary care settings. Clinical trials and other information published till the recent years has been studied and a review of noninvasive methods of diagnosing OSCC, including oral brush biopsy, optical biopsy, saliva-based oral cancer diagnosis, and others were included. It is clear that screening for and early detection of cancer and pre-cancerous lesions have the potential to reduce the morbidity and mortality of this disease. Advances in technologies for saliva-based oral diagnosis and optical biopsy are promising pathways for the future development of more effective noninvasive methods for diagnosing OSCC that are easy to perform clinically in primary care settings. Minimally invasive interventions are critical to improving healthcare efficiency, enhancing the quality of care provided, and reducing cost. The trend is toward facilitating the making of early diagnoses of OSCC by General Practitioners or dentists possible in primary care settings. This review thus provide an insight into the current concepts and future of noninvasive procedures for diagnosing oral squamous cell carcinoma.