IAOP President’s Prize Lecture

Speaker: K W Chang, DDS, PhD

* This speaker has been verified as having no relevant financial relationships to disclose.

“Defining the Role of miR-31 in Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma”

(1 credit hour)

Course Description:

Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is a prevalent malignancy worldwide, which requires more mechanistic understandings. MicroRNAs (miRNAs), are small non-coding RNAs, which modulate cell physiology and pathogenesis by down-regulating target genes. Among the oncogenic miRNAs in OSCC, miR-31 is the most significantly up-regulated miRNA in our screen of OSCC. The impacts of miR-31 on hypoxia pathway, DNA repair system and stemness properties by repressing multiple suppressor genes to facilitate OSCC pathogenesis will be addressed in this speech.

Objectives of course:

• To learn the oncogenic scenario and diagnostic implication of miR-31 in OSCC.

At the end of this course the participant:

• Understand the miR-31 regulated molecular networks underlying OSCC pathogenesis and the potential of miR-31 as a tumor marker.