Oral Cancer and Chemoprevention

Oral cancer is one of the major global threats to public health. The development of oral cancer is a tobacco-related multistep and multifocal process involving field cancerization and carcinogenesis. As, curative therapy available for oral cancer often results in debilitating changes in appearance, speech, swallowing and breathing, preventive strategies are desirable. Chemoprevention , is the use of natural, synthetic or biologic chemical agents to reverse, suppress, or prevent carcinogenic progression. Chemoprevention holds promise in the management of oral cancer. Many agents have been tried as chemopreventive agents such as retinoids, betacarotene, dietary factors and vit. E. The present article reviews the various aspects of chemoprevention and various chemopreventive agents used.