Molecular Biomarkers in Oral Pathology

Dear Colleagues,

It is with great pleasure that we introduce this Special Issue of Molecular Biomarkers in Oral Pathology, dedicated to advancing our understanding of the molecular signatures that underpin diseases of the oral cavity. Despite significant progress in genomics, proteomics, and precision medicine, the routine clinical application of molecular biomarkers in oral pathology remains limited. This gap underscores the need for rigorous investigations that illuminate the biological mechanisms driving oral disease and identify measurable indicators with diagnostic, prognostic, or therapeutic utility.

Oral pathology encompasses a diverse spectrum of disorders affecting the oral cavity and its adjacent structures, ranging from benign and malignant neoplasms—including oral cancer, odontogenic tumors, and salivary gland pathology—to infectious conditions and manifestations of systemic or autoimmune disease in the head and neck region. The complexity and heterogeneity of these conditions call for molecular tools capable of enhancing diagnostic accuracy, refining risk stratification, and guiding targeted therapeutic strategies.

According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, a biomarker is a defined characteristic that reflects biological processes and may predict clinical events, disease recurrence, or progression in affected patients. Within the context of oral pathology, molecular biomarkers may serve multiple roles:

• Diagnostic—identifying differences between healthy and diseased tissues;
• Prognostic—distinguishing molecular patterns associated with divergent clinical outcomes;
• Therapeutic—revealing actionable molecular pathways that can be modulated for disease intervention.

This Special Issue brings together contributions that explore these domains, with an emphasis on cutting-edge molecular analyses, innovative methodologies, and translational relevance. Our goal is to provide a comprehensive overview of current discoveries while stimulating further research that will ultimately integrate molecular biomarkers into everyday clinical practice.

We warmly invite researchers and clinicians to submit original research articles, comprehensive reviews, and brief communications that contribute to this growing field. The Special Issue is supervised by Dr. Ioannis Astreidis, with the valuable support of our Topical Advisory Panel Member, Assistant Professor Konstantinos Paraskevopoulos (Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece).

We look forward to your contributions and to the scientific dialogue that will undoubtedly emerge from this collection.

Dr. Ioannis Astreidis
Dr. Konstantinos Paraskevopoulos
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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