Advances in Tissue Engineering and Implications for Oral and Maxillofacial Reconstruction.

Background: Reconstructive surgery in the oral and maxillofacial region poses many challenges due to the complexity of the facial skeleton and the presence of composite defects involving soft tissue, bone and nerve defects.

Methods: Current methods of reconstruction include autologous grafting techniques with local or regional rotational flaps or microvascular free flaps, allografts, xenografts and prosthetic devices.

Results: Tissue engineering therapies utilizing stem cells provide promise for enhancing the current reconstructive options.

The REASON score: an epigenetic and clinicopathologic score to predict risk of poor survival in patients with early stage oral squamous cell carcinoma.

Background: Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is a capricious cancer with poor survival rates, even for early-stage patients. There is a pressing need to develop more precise risk assessment methods to appropriately tailor clinical treatment. Genome-wide association studies have not produced a viable biomarker.