Insights into the relevance of viral infections to the onset of oral malignancies, review study

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to summarize what is now known about the link between oral cancer, viral infections, and influencing variables by reviewing the scholarly literature on the subject. Inflammatory reactions can be triggered by a variety of hereditary and environmental variables that impact the mouth cavity and its multitude of bacteria. Important functions of this reaction include determining a patient's viral illness susceptibility, promoting chronic inflammation that may lead to oral carcinogenesis, and regulating the human immune system. Researchers have looked at the correlation between viral manifestation and the likelihood of cancer by studying how inflammation of the afflicted epithelium increases the risk. A large body of research indicates that viral infections increase the likelihood of developing various malignancies due to their systemic effects. Alcohol use, smoking, and poor dietary habits are among the many confounding variables linked to oral cancer. The following search engines were utilized: MEDLINE, PubMed, Google Scholar, and ScienceDirect. The keywords that were entered were: head and neck cancer (HNC), oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC), and other oral malignancies, viral infections (HSV, CMV, HIV, EBV, HPV), and so on. This review set out to search the relevant literature for a better understanding of the connection between viral infections and oral cancer.