Application of Indocyanine green in visual treatment of oral cancer

Indocyanine green (ICG) is a fluorescence indicator characterized by low trauma, a long effect time, low cytotoxicity, and high imaging resolution. It has been widely used in biomedical applications. However, ICG is not widely used in the treatment of oral cancer. This article reviews the application of ICG in the diagnosis and treatment of oral cancer. The results of a literature review showed that in the diagnosis and treatment of oral cancer, ICG mainly plays a role through the enhanced permeability and retention (EPR) effect of fluorescent substances and in coupling with various tumor-specific antibodies. For tumor visualization, ICG can focus on the primary tumor and lymph node metastasis by coupling the specific tumor antibodies and the EPR effect to guide the complete resection of the primary tumor and the determination of neck lymphadenectomy. In the reconstruction of the oral, head and neck regions, semi-quantitative measurement of ICG fluorescence intensity can be used to design a guide for a vascularized flap during the operation, for early detection of flap crisis after the operation, and to guide clinical flap exploration opportunities. In nonsurgical treatments of oral cancer, such as photothermal therapy and photodynamic therapy, ICG, as an important component of photosensitive nanomaterials, has attracted the attention of many scholars. ICG has good application prospects in the resection, reconstruction, visualization and nonsurgical treatment of oral cancer.