Association of oral bacteriome and oral squamous cell carcinoma

Oral cancer is the most common carcinoma of head and neck cancers. The majority of oral cancers are oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). Among the various etiological factors, oral microbes—bacteria are also associated with pathogenesis of OSCC. But only few studies have been done associating the presence of oral bacteriome with OSCC. The main aim of this review is to focus on association of microbes with OSCC, the pathogenesis, variation in bacteriome profiling in different geographic conditions, their role in pathogenesis of OSCC, and different samples and methods that are used to study their association with habits and tumour node metastasis (TNM) staging. To conclude, the imbalance in the oral bacteriome could be considered an etiological factor for OSCC. Since the bacteriome profiling varies greatly with geographic location and even in an individual in different locations of the oral cavity, it advocates more research. The study on identifying bacteria associated with OSCC will also enable their use as diagnostic markers and preventive management of OSCC.