Diagnostic Value of Salivary Amino Acid Levels in Cancer

Abstract

This review analyzed 21 scientific papers on the determination of amino acids in various types of cancer in saliva. Most of the studies are on oral cancer (8/21), breast cancer (4/21), gastric cancer (3/21), lung cancer (2/21), glioblastoma (2/21) and one study on colorectal, pancreatic, thyroid and liver cancer. The amino acids alanine, valine, phenylalanine, leucine and isoleucine play a leading role in the diagnosis of cancer via the saliva. In an independent version, amino acids are rarely used; the authors combine either amino acids with each other or with other metabolites, which makes it possible to obtain high values of sensitivity and specificity. Nevertheless, a logical and complete substantiation of the changes in saliva occurring in cancer, including changes in salivary amino acid levels, has not yet been formed, which makes it important to continue research in this direction.

Salivary metabolomic biomarkers for non‐invasive lung cancer detection

“…34 Polyamine profiles in plasma and urine showed discriminative patterns between lung and liver cancer. 28 Additionally, elevated N 1 ,N 12 -diacetylspermine levels in the urine have been frequently reported in various cancers. 35,36 A high plasma concentration of N 1 ,N 12 -diacetylspermine has also been observed in patients with lung cancer.…”

“…28 Additionally, elevated N 1 ,N 12 -diacetylspermine levels in the urine have been frequently reported in various cancers. 35,36 A high plasma concentration of N 1 ,N 12 -diacetylspermine has also been observed in patients with lung cancer. 37 We previously reported that N 1 -acetylspermidine had the highest discrimination ability among all metabolites in saliva samples collected from patients with colon cancer.…”

“…Tumor tissues also presented higher concentrations of acetylated polyamines than control samples. N 1 ,N 12 -diacetylspermine exhibited the highest fold change (FC) values among all metabolites. Moreover, N-acetylputrescine, N 1 -acetylspermine, N 1 ,N 8 -diacetylspermidine, N 1 -acetylspermidine, and N 8 -acetylspermidine demonstrated high FC values.…”

“… 11 Salivary amino acids could be used to assess the risk of various types of cancer. 12 Although these markers have shown potential for lung cancer diagnosis, the relationship between saliva and organs far from the oral cavity needs to be comprehensively clarified.…”

The Role of Amino Acids in the Diagnosis, Risk Assessment, and Treatment of Breast Cancer: A Review

“…An important part of the metabolomic profile, which makes it possible to discriminate between BC patients and healthy controls, is represented by amino acids. Amino acids in breast cancer are determined in the tissue [ 25 , 26 , 27 ], serum [ 7 , 28 , 29 , 30 ], plasma [ 6 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 ], saliva [ 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 ], and urine [ 39 , 40 , 41 ]. Amino acids not only play a vital role in the synthesis of biological molecules such as proteins in malignant cancer cells, but they are also important metabolites for immune cell activation and antitumor activity in the tumor microenvironment.…”