Oral cancer represents a critical global health issue, where traditional treatment modalities are often characterized by considerable adverse effects and suboptimal effectiveness. Photothermal therapy (PTT) offers an innovative method for tumor treatment, leveraging photothermal agents to convert light into hyperthermia, ultimately leading to tumor ablation. PTT offers unique advantages in treating oral cancer due to its superficial anatomical location and consequent accessibility to laser irradiation. PTT’s advantage is further enhanced by its capacity to facilitate drug release and promote tissue regeneration. Consequently, the application of PTT for oral cancer has garnered widespread interest and has undergone rapid development. This review outlines advances in PTT for oral cancer, emphasizing strategies to improve efficacy and combination therapy approaches. The key challenges, including temperature control and long-term biosafety, are discussed alongside future directions. The review also encompasses PTT’s role in managing oral potentially malignant disorders and postoperative defects, conditions intimately linked with oral cancer. We aim to provide guidance for emerging PTT research in oral cancer and to promote the development of precise and efficient treatment strategies.

This study aims to evaluate the effects of miR-374-5p on osteogenesis in rat osteoblasts, validate its target on PTEN, and explore its role in the PTEN/PI3K/AKT signaling pathway during osteoblast differentiation. We transfected 293T cells with miR-374-5p mimics and inhibitors, followed by Western blot and qRT-PCR analyses to assess protein and mRNA expression levels. A dual-luciferase assay was performed to confirm direct targeting. Markers of osteoblast function, such as Runx2, OSX, and OCN, were examined in osteoblasts from rats by qRT-PCR and Western blot. Additionally, we developed a lentiviral vector to overexpress miR-374-5p, which successfully infected rat osteoblast progenitors. Bone formation was subsequently assessed using Alizarin Red staining and ALP activity assays. Finally, rescue experiments were conducted to validate the involvement of the miR-374-5p/PTEN/PI3K/AKT signaling pathway. Our results demonstrate that miR-374-5p significantly downregulates both the protein and mRNA levels of its target gene PTEN, as confirmed by dual luciferase assays. qRT-PCR and Western blot analyses revealed that osteoblastic markers-including Runx2, OSX, and OCN—were markedly reduced in the miR-374-5p mimic group, whereas an opposite trend was observed in the inhibitor group. In vitro, overexpression of miR-374-5p suppressed osteoblast differentiation, as evidenced by decreased calcium nodule formation and reduced ALP activity compared to controls. Furthermore, co-transfection of miR-374-5p mimics with the PI3K/AKT pathway inhibitor LY294002 in osteoblasts led to significantly lower expression of PI3K/AKT pathway-related genes, and notably, the inhibitory effect of miR-374-5p on osteoblast differentiation was reversed by LY294002 treatment. Our findings indicate that miR-374-5p inhibits osteogenesis in rat osteoblasts by targeting PTEN and modulating the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway.