Oncogenic microRNAs as biomarkers of oral tumorigenesis and minimal residual disease.

Objectives: Classical diagnostic methods are not sensitive enough in detecting oral lesions that may progress to cancer and in assessing minimal residual disease (MRD) in oral surgical margins. Altered expression of microRNAs (miRNAs) contributes to human cancer, including oral cancer. Although there are many studies on microRNAs in oral cancer, there is no reported study comparing the expression of microRNAs during oral tumor progression and in oral surgical margins.