MARINE DERIVED BIOACTIVE COMPOUNDS IN OSCC MANAGEMENT: EXPLORING BUCCAL HYDROGEL SYSTEMS AS LOCALIZED DELIVERY

Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) remains associated with high recurrence and treatment- related morbidity despite advances in conventional therapy. Marine-derived bioactive compounds exhibit promising anticancer activity through apoptosis induction and modulation of oncogenic signaling; however, their clinical translation is limited by poor solubility, instability and inadequate local retention. This structured narrative review summarises current evidence on marine anticancer compounds investigated in OSCC and critically discusses buccal hydrogel- based delivery systems as localized therapeutic platforms. Emphasis is placed on formulation design, mucoadhesion, drug-release behaviour and stability. Although direct marine-hydrogel studies in OSCC are limited, buccal hydrogels show strong potential to enhance local efficacy and reduce systemic toxicity. It is also worth mentioning that mechanistic validation of marine compounds is mostly based on non oral cancer models and direct experimental evidence in OSCC- specific systems remains limited to a select number of compound classes such as fucoidan, pardaxin, piscidin-1 and 11-dehydrosinulariolide.