Since 1994 Ann Dent UM is publishing scholarly contributions in the broader field of Dentistry. Likewise the faculty of Dentistry at Universiti Malay, as the pioneer school of Dentistry in Malaysia, it’s official journal has also pioneered the milestone of dental journal publications in the country. Over the years, the journey for the journal has not always been as smooth as it could have been. Nevertheless 25 years have been a long time to be in existence in the world of scientific peer-reviewed publications.

In recent years, three-dimensional (3D) in vitro cell culture models have earned great attention, especiallyin the field of human cancer disease modelling research as they provide a promising alternative towardsthe conventional two-dimensional (2D) monolayer culture of cells with improved tissue organization. In2D cell culture systems, the complexity of cells on a planar surface does not accurately reflects the invivo cellular microenvironment. Cells propagated in 3D cell culture model, on the other hand, exhibitphysiologically relevant cell-to-cell interactions and cell-to-extracellular matrix (ECM) interactions,important in maintaining a normal homeostasis and specificity of tissues. This review gives an overviewon 2D models and their limitations, followed by 3D cell culture models, their advantages, drawbacks andchallenges in present perspectives. The review also highlights the dissimilarities of 2D and 3D modelsand the applicability of 3D models in current cancer research.

Deletions and amplifications of genes often occur during multistep progression from oral precancer, seen as oral epithelial dysplasia (OED) to cancerous stage. These genetic alterations could be used as markers to aid in detection of oral squamous cell carcinomas (OSCC). This study explored the use of multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification (MLPA) technique in detecting OSCC and OED specific genetic alterations. MLPA was used to detect gains and losses of 106 genes in DNA extracted from frozen tissue samples of 10 OSCC and 10 noncancer patients. Two biopsies of OED were analyzed to explore the alterations in oral potentially malignant disorders. There were significant differences (p<0.001) in the number of alterations in OSCC and dysplasia compared to non-cancer samples respectively. The most frequently altered genes in OSCC were PTP4A3, RECQL4, ATM, and KLK3 (60%). Five genes (MYC, SLA, TNFRSF1A, MESDC1, MIF) were altered in 50% of OSCC samples. These nine genes were specific to OSCC samples (p<0.05). Some genes, including MYB, MET, CASP2, SLA and PTEN occurred in 50% of OED samples. MLPA was able to detect genetic alterations, that are present only in the OSCC samples and showed potential to be used as an adjunctive tool in early diagnosis of OSCC.