Advancements and challenges in natural language processing in oral cancer research: A narrative review

ABSTRACT Oral cancer is a serious and often fatal disease that requires early detection and treatment for improved outcomes. Natural language processing (NLP) has emerged as a promising tool for improving the diagnosis and management of oral cancer. In this review, we examine the advancements and challenges in NLP in oral cancer research. We comprehensively searched electronic databases of PubMed/MEDLINE, Scopus, and Web of Science by using search terms “natural language processing” AND “head and neck cancer” OR “oral cancer” OR “oral oncology” OR “oral squamous cell carcinoma” OR “oral potentially malignant disorders” and identified 112 articles initially and finally included 8 relevant studies. The search was unrestricted; we searched literature between January 2014 and April 2023. The inclusion criteria included studies on the application of NLP in oral cancer. We excluded articles that focused on species other than humans, non-English literature, and the non-availability of full texts of the articles. In addition, a manual search of the references of relevant articles was done; however, we did not search Google, proceedings of meetings, and grey literature. Our review highlights the potential applications of NLP in oral cancer research, including risk assessment, diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis. NLP techniques have been shown to advance the precision and efficiency of diagnosing carcinoma of the oral cavity by extracting and analyzing relevant information from clinical notes and radiology reports. Moreover, NLP-based approaches have been used to identify novel biomarkers and genetic mutations associated with oral cancer, enabling the development of personalized treatment strategies. Despite the many advancements in NLP, several challenges remain. These include technical issues, such as data standardization and algorithm development, as well as ethical considerations related to patient privacy and data security. In conclusion, NLP has tremendous potential in oral cancer research, and further studies are needed to exploit its capabilities and overcome its challenges fully.