Division of Pathology, Department of Pathology, Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine, Kobe, Japan.
Division of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Department of Surgery Related, Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine, Kobe, Japan.
Pathobiology. 2021;88(5):327-337. doi: 10.1159/000515922. Epub 2021 May 7.
The mortality of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) has remained high for decades; therefore, methods for early detection of OSCC are warranted. However, in the oral cavity, various mucosal diseases may be encountered, including reactive lesions and oral potentially malignant disorders, and it is difficult to differentiate OSCC from these lesions based on both clinical and histopathological findings. It is well known that chronic inflammation contributes to oral cancer development. Macrophages are among the most common inflammatory cells in cancer stromal tissue and have various roles in cancer aggressiveness. Although the roles of macrophages in cancer development have attracted attention, only a few studies have linked macrophages to carcinogenesis, particularly, oral precancerous lesions.
This review article consists of 3 parts: first, we summarize current knowledge on macrophages in human various epithelial precancerous lesions, excluding the oral cavity, to show the importance and gaps in knowledge regarding macrophages in carcinogenesis; second, we review published data related to the role of macrophages in oral carcinogenesis; finally, we present a novel view on oral carcinogenesis, focusing on crosstalk between epithelial cells and macrophages. Key Messages: The biological features of macrophages in oral carcinogenesis differ drastically depending on the anatomical compartment that they infiltrate. Focusing on the alteration of macrophage infiltrating compartment may serve as a useful novel approach for studying the role of the macrophages in oral carcinogenesis and for gaining further insight into cancer prevention and early detection.
口腔鳞状细胞癌（OSCC）的死亡率几十年来一直居高不下；因此，有必要寻找 OSCC 的早期检测方法。然而，在口腔中，可能会遇到各种黏膜疾病，包括反应性病变和口腔潜在恶性疾病，仅根据临床和组织病理学发现，很难将 OSCC 与这些病变区分开来。众所周知，慢性炎症会促进口腔癌的发展。巨噬细胞是癌症间质组织中最常见的炎症细胞之一，在癌症侵袭性方面具有多种作用。尽管巨噬细胞在癌症发展中的作用引起了关注，但只有少数研究将巨噬细胞与癌症发生联系起来，特别是口腔癌前病变。
本文由 3 部分组成：首先，我们总结了目前关于人类各种上皮癌前病变（不包括口腔）中巨噬细胞的知识，以显示巨噬细胞在癌症发生中的重要性和知识空白；其次，我们回顾了与巨噬细胞在口腔癌发生中的作用相关的已发表数据；最后，我们提出了一个关于口腔癌发生的新观点，重点关注上皮细胞和巨噬细胞之间的串扰。关键信息：巨噬细胞在口腔癌发生中的生物学特征因浸润的解剖部位而异。关注巨噬细胞浸润部位的改变可能是研究巨噬细胞在口腔癌发生中的作用以及深入了解癌症预防和早期检测的一种有用的新方法。
