oral squamous cell carcinoma | Acta Medica Marisiensis

The impact of microRNA-596 on oral cancer: Insights into tumor biology and treatment strategies

Shereen Farhana P¹, Ameya K P², Ashikha Shirin Usman P P², Durairaj Sekar²

1. Department of Prosthodontics, Saveetha Dental College and Hospital, Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Science (SIMATS), Saveetha University, Chennai, India
2. RNA Biology Lab, Saveetha Dental College and Hospital, Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Science (SIMATS), Saveetha University, Chennai, India

DOI: 10.2478/amma-2025-0007

Objectives: Despite advancements in treatment, oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) remains a major global health issue with stagnant survival rates. MicroRNAs (miRNAs), particularly miR-596, play critical roles in cancer, acting as both oncogenes and tumor suppressors. This study aims to clarify miR-596’s function in OSCC and assess its potential as a therapeutic target or diagnostic biomarker.
Methods: A thorough bioinformatics analysis utilising information from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) led to the selection of miR-596 for investigation. After extracting its sequence from miRBase, RNAfold was used to evaluate the secondary structure’s functional characteristics. MiRNA expression levels were measured by quantitative reverse transcription PCR (qRT-PCR) on a total of 30 tissue samples, including OSCC and healthy controls. With TargetScan, the miR-596 gene targets were predicted.
Results: miR-596 is significantly downregulated in OSCC tissues compared to healthy controls. TargetScan analysis indicates that miR-596 regulates key genes involved in cell proliferation, metastasis, and apoptosis, suggesting its crucial role in these pathways. Additionally, the predicted secondary structure of miR-596 indicates high stability.
Conclusion: Based on its activity as a tumor suppressor, the study suggests that miR-596 may be an important factor in the development of OSCC. Its potential use as a therapeutic target or diagnostic biomarker is highlighted by the downregulation of miR-596 in OSCC. Validating these results and investigating the therapeutic applications of miR-596 in OSCC treatment require more investigation.

Nucleostemin and p-STAT3 as early diagnostic potential markers in oral squamous cell carcinoma

Selvaraj Jayaraman, Vishnu Priya Veeraraghavan

Centre of Molecular Medicine and Diagnostics (COMManD), Department of Biochemistry, Saveetha Dental College & Hospitals, Saveetha Institute of Medical & Technical Sciences, Saveetha University, Chennai-600077, India

DOI: 10.2478/amma-2023-0050

Oral cancer is considered the sixth most common type of cancer worldwide, out of which India contributes to about one-third of the total cases [1]. Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is the most dominant of all oral cancer cases and may develop from a potentially malignant disorder with a detectable pre-clinical phase. The primary causes of OSCC include tobacco consumption that involves smokeless tobacco, chewing of betel-quid and excessive consumption of alcohol, unhygienic oral practices, periodontal diseases, and sustained viral infections caused by human papillomavirus (HPV) [2]. Instead of these traditional risk factors (alcohol consumption and cigarette smoking), oncogenic HPV is found to be the main causative factor for the increasing incidence of OSCC. Furthermore, HPV etiology is linked to increased survival following conventional treatments. [More]