Saliva Proteins Help Detect Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma

A simple test that detects proteins in saliva could be used to indicate the presence of oral squamous cell carcinoma.

In a study to evaluate saliva proteins from oral cancer patients, investigators collected saliva samples from 64 patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma and 64 healthy patients. Five candidate biomarkers were successfully validated using immunoassays: M2BP, MRP14, CD59, profiling and catalase. This study demonstrates the first translational utility of the salivary proteome for oral cancer detection.

Prof. David T. Wong D.M.D., D.M.Sc., from the University of California (UCLA), Los Angeles School of Dentistry (Los Angeles, CA, USA) and colleagues have been working on the project as part of the U.S. National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research's (NIDCR; Bethesda, MD, USA) Human Saliva Proteome Project, which focuses on identifying and cataloguing the proteomic components of saliva in healthy subjects.

Previous studies have shown that saliva can be a useful diagnostic tool, but this is the first study to globally evaluate saliva protein levels from oral cancer patients. Since it is very simple to collect and process saliva fluids, the discovery of these biomarkers may lead to a useful clinical tool for noninvasive diagnosis of oral cancer in the future.

"This test is currently not available, but we are developing point-of-care microfluidic devices to detect these markers that we can use in clinical trials,” said Shen Hu, Ph.D., assistant professor of oral biology and proteomics at the University of California, Los Angeles School of Dentistry.

The study was reported in the October 1, 2008 issue of the journal Clinical Cancer Research.

Related Links:
University of California Los Angeles School of Dentistry
National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research