Pissacha Daroonpan, DDS, PhD
Contact: pissachad@nu.ac.th
Research interests: Tumor microenvironment, Oral cancer, Oral medicine, Epidemiology

Description of current research

The tumor immune microenvironment is the main topic of my present research. Specifically, oral cancer has various immunosuppressive characteristics in the tumor microenvironment (TME). These features may greatly affect the efficacy of treatment and prognosis. My earlier studies in Japan have demonstrated that the immune profiles of oral tongue squamous cell carcinoma (OTSCC) patients are diverse and cannot be predicted from clinicopathological information alone. M2 macrophage abundance is a potential candidate biomarker for recurrence and metastasis in the early stage of OTSCC. The assessment of comprehensive personal immune profiles may provide beneficial information for risk prediction and the selection of suitable therapy. I plan to carry out an additional study on a large-scale sample to identify a more reliable prognostic biomarker for OTSCC. Apart from the TME aspect, I am also interested in the epidemiology, including the biological, psychological, social, and environmental aspects of oral cancer and oral potentially malignant disorders (OPMDs), such as oral leukoplakia, erythroplakia, and oral lichen planus. OPMDs are assumed to have a high risk of malignancy. Early detection, prevention, and treatment of OPMDs are required to prevent their malignant transformation into oral cancer.