Chemopreventive and Therapeutic Potential of Phytopharmaceuticals Against Oral Cancer

Abstract

Oral cancer is a major public health problem in both developing and developed countries. It is believed to be the eighth most common cancer considering a major risk factor of worldwide morbidity and mortality. Major risk factors of this deadly disease are lifestyle (consumption of smoking and smokeless tobacco, alcohol, betel quid, etc.), unhealthy food, and poor dental care and viral infections. These factors are responsible for mutations in the DNA leading to the initiation of carcinogenesis. Oral carcinogenesis is a multistep process having three distinct phases: initiation, promotion, and progression. Modern cancer treatments (chemotherapy, surgery, radiation therapy, and immunotherapy) are associated with lots of side effects. Thus, phytopharmaceuticals are being used as alternative medicines in the prevention of oral carcinogenesis. Phytopharmaceuticals (such as resveratrol, sulforaphane, quercetin, etc.) have immense potential to prevent cancer development in every phase of carcinogenesis and more importantly, these compounds have fewer side effects.