Omics-based molecular techniques in oral pathology centred cancer: prospect and challenges in Africa

Abstract

BackgroundThe completion of the human genome project and the accomplished milestones in the human proteome project; as well as the progress made so far in computational bioinformatics and “big data” processing have contributed immensely to individualized/personalized medicine in the developed world.Main bodyAt the dawn of precision medicine, various omics-based therapies and bioengineering can now be applied accurately for the diagnosis, prognosis, treatment, and risk stratification of cancer in a manner that was hitherto not thought possible. The widespread introduction of genomics and other omics-based approaches into the postgraduate training curriculum of diverse medical and dental specialties, including pathology has improved the proficiency of practitioners in the use of novel molecular signatures in patient management. In addition, intricate details about disease disparity among different human populations are beginning to emerge. This would facilitate the use of tailor-made novel theranostic methods based on emerging molecular evidences.ConclusionIn this review, we examined the challenges and prospects of using currently available omics-based technologies vis-à-vis oral pathology as well as prompt cancer diagnosis and treatment in a resource limited setting.

A multi-centre evaluation of malignant odontogenic tumours in Nigeria

“…Particularly because ACs accounted for 79.4% of MOTs in this study. The disparity in the time of presentation, may also be due to the lack of education and poor infrastructure, which is common in resource limited settings [36, 37].…”

Descriptive epidemiology of salivary gland neoplasms in Nigeria: An AOPRC multicenter tertiary hospital study

“…Salivary gland tumors often pose diagnostic challenges (Peravali, Bhat, Upadya, Agarwal, & Naag, ; Tyagi & Dey, ), even in the most equipped centers in the world. This is more so in the African continent, where diagnostic resources are limited and need to be managed judiciously (Adeola, Soyele, Adefuye, Jimoh, & Butali, ). To our knowledge, this is the largest multicenter study of SGN in Africa.…”

Diagnostic Potential of Salivary Exosomes in Oral Cancer

“…Despite the fact, that there is a relatively wider coverage and application of several emerging molecular and omics-based techniques, in the field of medicine; many of these concepts (and techniques) are only beginning to gain recognition in the field of dentistry [1]. The completion of the human genome project [2][3][4], has expanded the trajectory for precision diagnostic and therapeutic potential thereof across many biomedical fields [5,6].…”

“…The completion of the human genome project [2][3][4], has expanded the trajectory for precision diagnostic and therapeutic potential thereof across many biomedical fields [5,6]. The clinical lexicon in the post-genomic era is now burgeoning with various personalized application of genomics (and phenomics) to improving the cancer management pipelines [1,[6][7][8][9].…”