Contemporary Approaches to Oral Cancer Screening and Early Detection: A Narrative Review
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.48165/ajm.2026.9.02.27Keywords:
Oral cancer, Early detection, Oral screeningAbstract
Oral cancer is a significant global health burden, and delayed diagnosis remains a major factor contributing to poor outcomes. Early detection through effective screening and timely diagnosis is essential for improving survival. This narrative review summarizes contemporary approaches to oral cancer screening, including visual and tactile examination, vital staining, autofluorescence, brush cytology, salivary biomarkers, molecular diagnostics, optical imaging, and artificial intelligence-assisted analysis. The diagnostic potential, clinical applications, advantages, and limitations of these methods are discussed, with emphasis on their role in detecting oral potentially malignant disorders and early oral squamous cell carcinoma. Although emerging technologies show promising results, conventional clinical examination and histopathological evaluation remain fundamental. Integrating validated adjunctive technologies with routine clinical assessment may enhance early detection and risk-based referral.
References
Xu, K., Yang, Q., Chen, W., Li, Z., Wu, Y., Ren, F., & Li, X. (2025). Research progress on carcinogenic factors and personalized treatment of oral cancer. Discover Oncology, 17(1), 59.
Bhattarai, B. P., Singh, A. K., Mastrogeorgiou, M., & Sapkota, D. (2026). Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC): An overview. Advances in Immunology, 170, 3–33.
Tan, Y., Wang, Z., Xu, M., Li, B., Huang, Z., Qin, S., Nice, E. C., Tang, J., & Huang, C. (2023). Oral squamous cell carcinomas: State of the field and emerging directions. International Journal of Oral Science, 15(1), 44.
Kim, M. J., & Ahn, K. M. (2024). Prognostic factors of oral squamous cell carcinoma: The importance of recurrence and pTNM stage. Maxillofacial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, 46(1), 8.
Warnakulasuriya, S., & Kerr, A. R. (2021). Oral cancer screening: Past, present, and future. Journal of Dental Research, 100(12), 1313–1320.
Downer, M. C., Moles, D. R., Palmer, S., & Speight, P. M. (2004). A systematic review of test performance in screening for oral cancer and precancer. Oral Oncology, 40(3), 264–273.
Pallagatti, S., Sheikh, S., Aggarwal, A., Gupta, D., Singh, R., Handa, R., Kaur, S., & Mago, J. (2013). Toluidine blue staining as an adjunctive tool for early diagnosis of dysplastic changes in the oral mucosa. Journal of Clinical and Experimental Dentistry, 5(4), e187–e191.
Yumnam, R., Rangaswamy, S., Singh, D. N., Atom, J., Nandita, A., & Chungkham, S. (2025). Lugol's iodine-guided excision margin determination in oral mucosal lesion management. Bioinformation, 21(8), 2631–2634.
Croce, A. C., & Bottiroli, G. (2014). Autofluorescence spectroscopy and imaging: A tool for biomedical research and diagnosis. European Journal of Histochemistry, 58(4), 2461.
Schwarz, R. A., Gao, W., Daye, D., Williams, M. D., Richards-Kortum, R., & Gillenwater, A. M. (2008). Autofluorescence and diffuse reflectance spectroscopy of oral epithelial tissue using a depth-sensitive fiber-optic probe. Applied Optics, 47(6), 825–834.
Babshet, M., Nandimath, K., Pervatikar, S., & Naikmasur, V. (2011). Efficacy of oral brush cytology in the evaluation of the oral premalignant and malignant lesions. Journal of Cytology, 28(4), 165–172.
Kim, D. H., Lee, J., Lee, M. H., Kim, S. W., & Hwang, S. H. (2022). Efficacy of chemiluminescence in the diagnosis and screening of oral cancer and precancer: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Brazilian Journal of Otorhinolaryngology, 88(3), 358–364.
McKinley, J. M., McKinley, M. J., Daas, A. Y., Tanimu, S., & Barthel, J. S. (2008). Narrow-band imaging: The significance of detail. Gastroenterology & Hepatology, 4(10), 722–724.
Jerjes, W., Stevenson, H., Ramsay, D., & Hamdoon, Z. (2024). Enhancing oral cancer detection: A systematic review of the diagnostic accuracy and future integration of optical coherence tomography with artificial intelligence. Journal of Clinical Medicine, 13(19), 5822.
Sethi, S., Ju, X., Logan, R. M., Sambrook, P., McLaughlin, R. A., & Jamieson, L. M. (2021). Diagnostic accuracy of confocal laser endomicroscopy for the diagnosis of oral squamous cell carcinoma: A systematic review and meta-analysis. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(23), 12390.
Han, R., Lin, N., Huang, J., & Ma, X. (2022). Diagnostic accuracy of Raman spectroscopy in oral squamous cell carcinoma. Frontiers in Oncology, 12, 925032.
Malik, B. H., Jabbour, J. M., Cheng, S., Cuenca, R., Cheng, Y. S., Wright, J. M., Jo, J. A., & Maitland, K. C. (2016). A novel multimodal optical imaging system for early detection of oral cancer. Oral Surgery, Oral Medicine, Oral Pathology and Oral Radiology, 121(3), 290–300.e2.
Vats, R., Yadav, P., Bano, A., Wadhwa, S., & Bhardwaj, R. (2024). Salivary biomarkers in non-invasive oral cancer diagnostics: A comprehensive review. Journal of Applied Oral Science, 32, e20240151.
Vats, R., Yadav, P., Bano, A., Wadhwa, S., & Bhardwaj, R. (2024). Salivary biomarkers in non-invasive oral cancer diagnostics: A comprehensive review. Journal of Applied Oral Science, 32, e20240151.
Şengün, D. N., Faruk Kocamaz, Ö., Kitap, M. C., & Soluk Tekkeşin, M. (2026). Emerging diagnostic strategies for oral cancer and oral potentially malignant disorders: A PRISMA-guided scoping review. Diagnostics, 16(9), 1364.
Hsu, P. C., Huang, J. H., Tsai, C. C., Lin, Y. H., & Kuo, C. Y. (2025). Early molecular diagnosis and comprehensive treatment of oral cancer. Current Issues in Molecular Biology, 47(6), 452.
Vinay, V., Jodalli, P., Chavan, M. S., Buddhikot, C. S., Luke, A. M., Ingafou, M. S. H., Reda, R., Pawar, A. M., & Testarelli, L. (2025). Artificial intelligence in oral cancer: A comprehensive scoping review of diagnostic and prognostic applications. Diagnostics, 15(3), 280.
