Salivary biomarkers could improve early detection of squamous cell carcinoma of the tongue (TSCC), which has one of the poorest prognoses of head and neck cancers, according to a study in Oral Oncology (March 10, 2011).
Researchers from the University of Southern California (USC) set out to identify salivary biomarkers that can identify a spectrum of patients progressing from high risk to TSCC. They also examined the mortality of exophytic and endophytic TSCC, expecting the elevated cytokine levels in endophytic patients to be associated with a shorter survival.
Saliva was collected from patients with TSCC and controls at USC/Los Angeles County clinics and USC University Hospital clinics. A sample of patients with TSCC was divided into endophytic (n = 10) and exophytic (n = 8) cancer by physician diagnosis. Controls were divided into four groups of 14 based on their high-risk smoking and drinking behaviors.
The researchers then measured the cytokine protein levels of IL-1α, IL-6, IL-8, VEGF-a, and TNF-α in all patients. They found that all five cytokines were elevated in the endophytic TSCC group compared with the other groups, which correlated with the decreased survival rate (10.4 months) in this group compared to exophytic TSCC (24 months). IL-1α, IL-6, TNF-α, and VEGF were also elevated in the exophytic TSCC group compared with the smoking-drinking controls.
“Salivary levels of IL-1α, IL-6, IL-8, VEGF-a, and TNF-α can identify the progression of TSCC from high risk to neoplasm, serving as potential biomarkers for cancer screening and early detection,” the researchers concluded.
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