Oral submucous fibrosis (OSF) can cause various oral dysfunctions in patients and can turn into oral cancer. The causes and processes of OSF malignant transformation involve betel nut chewing, vascular atrophy, tissue hypoxia, cell cycle changes, aging, autophagy, and changes in cancer/cancer suppressor genes and microRNAs. It is of great significance to study the causes and process of OSF malignant transformation for the treatment and prevention of OSF malignant transformation.

Forkhead box protein O1 (FOXO1) has been extensively studied as a tumor suppressor. In oral squamous cell carcinoma, studies have demonstrated that FOXO1 can inhibit tumor cell oxidative stress, stemness and epithelial-mesenchymal transition, and promote tumor cell autophagy and apoptosis. FOXO1 may serve as a potential target for the treatment of oral squamous cell carcinoma.