Role of Peptides in Oral Cancer

Oral cancer is one of the most prevalent form of cancers worldwide, which is a significant health burden for countries experiencing economic changes. Chemotherapy, radiation therapy and surgery are gold standard oncotherapies which are traditionally used. However, the side effects and recurrence of tumours are challenges associated with these and are hurdles to achieve complete cure. For the past few decades, researchers are focusing on molecules which are less toxic, highly stable, and that can easily target the tumours without any adverse effects. One such type of molecules are peptides, which comprises of small amino acid chains and these can be effectively used to target cancers for promising results. This chapter discusses the mechanism behind peptides in oral cancer treatments and the types of peptides used in oral cancer management. Understanding the mechanistic overview and role of peptides in treating oral cancer will provide a great insight for utilising peptides alone or peptides conjugated with any drugs or drug delivery via peptides as an effective oral cancer therapeutic treatment.