A review: potential application and outlook of photothermal therapy in oral cancer treatment

As one of the most common malignant tumors, oral cancer threatens people's health worldwide. However, traditional therapies, including surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy cannot meet the requirement of cancer cure. Photothermal therapy (PTT) has attracted widespread attentions for its advantages of the noninvasive process, few side effects, and promising tumor ablation. Up to now, three types of photothermal agents (PTAs) have been widely employed in oral cancer therapies, which involve metallic materials, carbon-based materials, and organic materials. Previous research mainly introduced hybrid materials due to benefits from the synergistic effect of multiple functions. In this review, we present the advancement of each type PTAs for oral cancer treatment in recent years. In each part, we introduce the properties and synthesis of each PTA, summarize the current studies, and analyze their potential applications. Furthermore, we discuss the status quo and the deficiencies hindering the clinical application of PTT, based on which gives the perspective of its future developing directions.

Automated summary

This review presents the recent advancements in photothermal agents for oral cancer treatment, including metallic materials, carbon-based materials, and organic materials. The properties and synthesis of each photothermal agent are introduced, and current studies are summarized, along with their potential applications. Furthermore, the current status quo and deficiencies hindering the clinical application of photothermal therapy are discussed, providing insights into future development directions.