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Molecular Biomarkers in Oral Pathology

A special issue of International Journal of Molecular Sciences (ISSN 1422-0067). This special issue belongs to the section "Molecular Pathology, Diagnostics, and Therapeutics".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 July 2026 | Viewed by 469

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
1. General Hospital of Thessaloniki "George Papanikolaou", 57010 Thessaloniki, Greece
2. Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Specialized Cancer Treatment and Reconstruction Center, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece
Interests: oral and maxillofacial surgery; biology of head and neck pathology

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
1. General Hospital of Thessaloniki "George Papanikolaou", 57010 Thessaloniki, Greece
2. Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Specialized Cancer Treatment and Reconstruction Center, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece
Interests: head and neck cancer; head and neck reconstruction; microsurgery; maxillofacial pathology; maxillofacial trauma; maxillofacial infections; advanced head and face implantology; cleft and orthognathic surgery; biomarkers; microRNA; tongue cancer
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Special Issue Information

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

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. International Journal of Molecular Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. There is an Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal. For details about the APC please see here. Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • oral disease
  • oral pathology
  • oral cancer
  • biomarkers
  • molecular biomarkers
  • head and neck pathology
  • precision medicine
  • omics-based analysis

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

13 pages, 1890 KB  
Article
The Clinical Significance of SPOP Upregulation and Nuclear Accumulation in Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma
by Yin-Hwa Shih, Nan-Chin Lin, Yen-Wen Shen, Ming-Gene Tu, Tong-Hong Wang, Yu-Hsin Tseng, Shih-Min Hsia and Tzong-Ming Shieh
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2026, 27(5), 2285; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms27052285 - 28 Feb 2026
Viewed by 301
Abstract
The speckle-type BTB/POZ protein (SPOP) is an E3 ubiquitin ligase adaptor typically considered a tumor suppressor, yet its role in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) remains unclear. This study investigated SPOP expression, arecoline regulation, and its potential as a HNSCC biomarker. [...] Read more.
The speckle-type BTB/POZ protein (SPOP) is an E3 ubiquitin ligase adaptor typically considered a tumor suppressor, yet its role in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) remains unclear. This study investigated SPOP expression, arecoline regulation, and its potential as a HNSCC biomarker. SPOP mRNA and its protein were quantified in HNSCC (FaDu, GMN, HSC-3, SAS, and A253) and normal oral epithelial (SG) cell lines via RT-qPCR and Western blot; arecoline’s effect on SG, SAS, and A253 cells was evaluated. SPOP mRNA was analyzed using The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) HNSCC cohort, and protein localization was assessed via immunohistochemistry (IHC) on tissue microarrays. SPOP mRNA was higher in some HNSCC lines; arecoline induced SPOP in SG cells, but not in HNSCC cell lines. TCGA confirmed SPOP mRNA upregulation in tumors correlating with grade. IHC showed SPOP upregulation in HNSCC, particularly in palate and pharynx/hypopharynx sites. The nuclear SPOP-positive ratio shifted from 12.14 ± 9.82% in normal tissues to 61.26 ± 33.03% in tumors (p < 0.0001), differentiating grades and sites better than total expression. SPOP is upregulated in HNSCC and inducible by arecoline. Enhanced nuclear SPOP localization indicates malignancy and progression, identifying it as a potential HNSCC diagnostic and progression biomarker. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Molecular Biomarkers in Oral Pathology)
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