Immunosurveillance and Oral Cancer

The immune system of the body plays an important role in human tumorigenesis. Literature data over the past several decades has provided evidence for the same. The ideas concerning the activities of the host immunity have evolved from the initial immunosurveillance concept which describes the anti-tumorigenic effects of the immune system to the more recently proposed immunoediting concept. The concept of tumor immunoediting describes the dual action of immune system in acting as tumor scavengers as well as tumor promoters. This has been described based on three stages of tumor immunoediting namely elimination, equilibrium and escape. Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is a multifactorial disease caused chiefly by tobacco and its products which exhibit several genetic and molecular aberrations. Among the various hallmarks of oral carcinogenesis is the role of immune system to destroy the tumor cells as well as the ability of the tumor cells to evade the host immune system. Various cells such as mast cells, tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), eosinophils, macrophages and interferon-γ have been found to be involved in OSCC. This review encompasses the basics of immunosurveillance and immunoediting concept with a note on the different cellular mediators of immune system as pertaining to OSCC.